Etsuko Hizuri
by m4g3rul3z
Summary: When skipbeat's fav couple start a family, who knew it'd be this insane? And really, can any teenage daughter of two stars have a normal life? Or fall in love without being trampled by paparazzi? well, let's find out! XD read and review! thanks!
1. Chapter 1

"ETSUKO HIZURI! WAKE UP!" A shrill voice pierced through my peaceful slumber, shrieking my name and shattering a few glass panes in the process. "Have you been paying any attention for the past hour?"

"Itsuki sensei, how many times do you want me to tell you, the reciprocal of _x_ is 10. May I go back to sleep now?" I drawled without glancing at the whiteboard or textbook, knowing full well that my answer was sufficient to keep him from disturbing me for the next hour.

"Who IS she?"

"Some genius student sent here to make our lives miserable!"

I chuckled silently as my exasperated teacher turned his back on me and returned to the front of the class, as the rest of the students whispered behind his back. It was amusing being the new "genius" transfer student, the mysterious one that had come all the way from America but was well versed in Japanese anyway. Nobody here knew about me, but if they did, they would have stopped wondering about my golden hair that was swept into a lazily tied ponytail. The only one in this new school that had an inkling about my identity was currently down the hall in one of the classrooms for seniors, probably sleeping through algebra, or getting berated for doing so.

Before I could return constructing my extravagant castle in the sky that I had been building for the past week, there was one comment that took me aback, as I realised my cover could be blown any minute. I peeked through my heavy eyelids and caught sight of a boy with jet black hair, sporting a smirk that was eerily familiar, and I tried to place a finger on it as I recalled what he had just said.

"She looks a lot like Mogami Kyoko when she was a starlet, doesn't she?"

...

My name is Etsuko Hizuri, and I'm 16 years old. My past 15 odd years were spent in America, and back then I was taken care of by my grandparents, who have been happily giving the press a run for their money by frequently sneaking in and out of retirement. My parents are like two teenagers that can't keep their hands off each other, despite them both being in their forties, and I have two elder brothers who are responsible for half the swooning female fans at any major film event. That's a brief summary of my family tree in under a hundred words. And let me tell you, that tree is full of nuts.

Thanks to my parents' much hyped wedding, my brothers had been automatically thrust into the blinding limelight when they were born two years apart from each other. Right now, Kaitou and Kichirou are 22 and 20 respectively. Father always liked the sea, and Mother always had a penchant for liking names that suggested flying, although she never told me why. They chose Kaitou for my eldest brother, with 'Kai' meaning the sea or ocean, and 'tou' that meant 'to soar'. Though he can swim rather well, Kaitou abhors heights, and this has always led Kichirou and I to tease him about his inability to board roller coasters that go above two metres. Kichirou (lucky star) (cue gags) should have been named 'Nagareboshi' (shooting star) instead, thanks to his thrill seeking side that takes him bungee jumping around the world at least twice a year. How he managed to convince Mother to let him do so is still an unsolved mystery.

You must be wondering then, what I am doing in Japan. Unlike my brothers, my parents decided to give me a say about the limelight business. They let me live with my grandparents in America, and did well in shielding me from the press for a decade and a half. Father kept his stage name, and Mother, Kaitou and Kichirou adopted it. They were international stars by the time, but always found a way to see me each month. Mother even made me dolls of everyone else in Japan. They were scarily detailed, and till this day I have a feeling that the five year old me did not need to know how many moles Father had on his butt.

However, though my schoolmates had no clue about my parents' fame, the very reason that I was both well off and living with my grandparents made them suspicious of me, and I was unable to make friends. My brothers warned me about the hassle fame would bring once I returned to Japan, but I knew that I wanted to be with my parents and see even my brothers in action for once, instead of being hidden away. Mom and Dad were afraid I was feeling left out, and they were right, even though I didn't like to admit it, after all they had done for me.

So here I was, a week into my life in Japan, and on the verge of being discovered.

...

"Tadaima, Okasan," I heaved my school bag and put in near the door of my room, that was yet to be repainted from the baby pink it was for the past 15 years.

"Etsuko! Okairi!" Mother chirped.

I could tell Mom was glad I was back. She always called me her little princess, and insisted she take some days off for the next two weeks to welcome me back and settle me in. Father was voluntarily drowning himself in work as usual, and Yashiro-san was glad that his daughter's return was enough to get him to eat proper dinners at least. Grandma had taught me a thing or two about the kitchen, which Grandpa corrected in a flash, so as to preserve the lives of both current and future Hizuris. I helped Mom with the rest of dinner, and when my ridiculously tall father stepped into the house, I decided to practice a little give and take – take a bath, and give them privacy for whatever they wanted to do. My brothers frequently warned me about this, and this was a great time to take their advice. I had barely entered the bathroom when Dad had already skilfully turned Mom into jelly, and was going in for some more.

Fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of the steaming bathroom, drying my hair with one of my mother's old towels. My parents were still at it, and though I couldn't see them, Kichirou's voice warned me from coming into the living room unprepared.

"Come on Dad! Aren't you a little old for that? Get a room at least!"

I grinned. Kichirou had been away for filming, and it would be the first time I would be seeing him since last year.

"Tadaima, Okasan, Otousan, I will now go wash my eyes with the strongest detergent we have at home."

Kaitou was back too! I felt like a little girl, hearing each member of my family all at once. It was a treat, and I could not remember the last time since their conflicting schedules had allowed them all to be together. _They've...they've probably been able to spend years like this._ Thoughts crept into my head, reminding me of the stark differences between us. I glanced around at the walls of the house, adorned with Oscars, certificates, professional photographs taken of my alluring family.

"Now boys, go play with your sister. Okasan and I will...set up the table," Father stated mischievously.

"Etsuko's back already? ETTTSUUUUUU!" Kichirou's footsteps pounded on the wooden floorboards moments before I was greeted with a giant bear hug.

I swear Kichirou grows ten centimetres every time I see him after a long while. He was nearly as tall as Father, and was able to crush every bone in my body while lifting me off the ground in the process.

"Kichirou, don't kill our only sister. She's the only sane one in this family," Kaitou flashed a blinding smile, "plus, I want a hug too."

Squirming my way out of Kichirou's embrace, I launched myself into Kaitou's arms. It was safe to say that most women would kill to be in my shoes at that moment, as I tightened my arms around Kaitou, burying my face in his soft black hair, and then stuck my tongue out at Kichirou.

"I'd choose Japan's most desirable man over Japan's _second_ most desirable man anytime!" I grinned cheekily, trying my best to aggravate my blond haired brother by quoting the latest statistics.

"But he's taken isn't he," Kichirou skilfully brushed aside my insult, seemed deep in thought, and then raised an eyebrow at Kaitou, "what's this I hear about you and Megumi Kotone?"

"Kaitou's in love with that new talent from his latest drama?" I remembered the outstanding performance she gave, and commended my brother for his good taste, "so when's the wedding?"

"She's just a year older than you, Etsuko," he sighed and looked forlornly into the distance, "and I'm not a paedophile. Megumi's way too young for me."

"That's what Otousan thought too, and our existence is living proof that that statement is unfounded. The very fact our father is out in the living room attacking our mother shows that age doesn't matter. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, because at this rate we'll get another sibling instead of dinner," Kichirou glanced worriedly at the dining room.

Kaitou looked disdainfully at Kichirou, while pulling me back into a hug and sticking his tongue out at my second brother for good measure. They were quick to ask me questions about school and how I was finding Japan, and I answered them cheerfully. I realised Kaitou was almost an exact replica of Father, save his eyes which were golden, and his hair which was black. Like me, Kichirou had inherited Father's blond locks and dark eyes, but his face was shaped more like Mother's, giving him a pretty boy look. Unfortunately, they were both dazzling in their own right, and I felt inferior in comparison. _Maybe that's why I'm not in showbiz; I'd just ruin their image of a perfect family._

"Dinner's ready!" We heard Mother's eternally bubbly voice call us to the dining room, and we rushed to the table, hungry for a rare meal of home-cooked food.

Just as we were about to sit down at the mahogany table for our dinner, the phone rang out in shrill, equally separated rings, and my mother made her way to the electronic device, and then answered it.

"Yes, this is the Tsuruga household, and you are looking for..." Mother's golden eyes widened in absolute shock, and the entire household seemed to be frozen in time.

"There is no such person here. I'm sorry."

Mother's terse voice lingered in the air as she put down the receiver, then glanced at us across the room, before they settled on me and pierced through my very heart and soul.

"Etsuko, who did you tell?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Lol okay so this is the second chapter. I'm not sure if anyone reading this actually likes it, cause I know most people go to fanfiction to see their favourite couples come together, but here I am sticking my own character into the picture. And just a warning cause there's gonna be less and less of Kyoko and Ren, and more stuff regarding Etsuko. I'll make her fall in love with all the fluff, no prob, but yeah, alot more emphasis than Kyoko and Ren. _

_But if you actually like it, tell me, so i'll know whether to continue or scrap it entirely. To the rest..._

_I'M SOWWIE. _

**CHAPTER 2!**

"Etsuko! Why have you been hiding away all these years?"

"What will you be doing now, seeing as you have no experience in acting?"

The flashes blinded me, and I felt the floor give way underneath my feet. I stumbled around, desperate for something to cling on to, something that wouldn't collapse when I needed it the most. Something warm propped me up, and I grasped blindly at it. Kichirou. Kichirou's arm. It supported me for a while, and I felt safe among the scores of paparazzi for a moment, before being violently torn away like a helpless newborn from its mother. The people I loved came into view, but their faces were twisted with hate and scorn.

"You're too ugly to be with us!" _Kaitou?_

"You don't belong here! Go back to where you came from!" _Ki...Kichirou..._

"I never considered you to be my child." _Outosan!_

I watched in utter shock as Okasan advanced towards me, with a smirk that I had only seen once before in a drama she had acted in called 'Box R'. It chilled me to the bone. Cold, so cold.

"Etsuko, my little princess, I only kept you away from the limelight because I was ashamed of you. Did you honestly think I was sparing a thought for your welfare?"

They faded to black, leaving me stunned and trapped in the darkness. I jolted upright, and found myself in my bedroom. My futon had been thrust to an obscure corner of the room, which was rather bare since it was yet to be fully furnished. Now, it would never be. Memories of my recent nightmare attacked my defenceless mind, which I needed to clear badly. I shrugged off my pyjamas and slipped on a long pair of cargo pants and a hoodie, then snuck past my brothers' empty rooms into the hallway. They had both moved out when they were eighteen, renting their own apartments with the money they had earned from work. Hoping that Okasan and Otousan were sound asleep, I tiptoed out of the front door and into the breezy autumn night.

...

Tucking my hands into the pockets of my pants, I rounded the corner, and tried to stick to the brightly lit areas. The Okasan in my dreams was far from the one I knew. My fears were unfounded. I would not have to show myself in public, and humiliate my family in the process. Etsuko Tsuruga. It sounded weird just saying it. I wasn't like my brothers; my legs didn't go for miles on end. Unlike the new actresses pouring into LME's building each day, my chest was flatter than a sushi conveyor belt doing overtime.

I remembered the way my mother had looked at me after the phone call. She didn't mean to blame me for that unexpected interruption, and I understood that she wanted to keep my identity under wraps until I was completely sure I wanted, or at least didn't mind the press. But the shock was enough to throw her into hysterics, and she started to blame herself for not thinking about the consequences of bringing me back to Japan. Otousan calmed her down soon enough, and I assured her I couldn't have asked for a better mother.

Kichirou suggested I masquerade as his newest flame, but Otousan dismissed it, saying the press would be even more unforgiving. Kaitou thought that I should break into the acting industry on my own, but even though I enjoyed acting, I wasn't sure it was what I wanted to do for a living. Although it pained Okasan to bring it up, she said that I should move out soon. Living with them would increase the suspicion tenfold. Otousan added that he would get to the root of the rumour and hush it up as much as he could. By the end of dinner, it had been decided that I would be moving to an apartment near my school the next day. Today, for that matter. It was extravagant for a high school girl, but my parents said it was the least they could do for now.

A chilly breeze made me shiver, and I glanced at the deserted street, realising that I had wandered a little too far from the main road, and had gone beyond the perimeters of the residential area. The unwavering red digits on my wristwatch informed me that it was nearly three in the morning, and it would be best that I head back home. Before I could decide on the direction that would take me back to where I came from, there was a whiff of cheap alcohol in the air. It was faint at first, but the odour became increasingly stifling. My brain tried to put two and two together, but by that time, I had a sickly feeling deep in my stomach that I wouldn't be fond of whatever that would come next.

"Well well little lady, it's late for a pretty young thing like you to be out," a rough arm pulled me backwards, the stench of alcohol reeking off the drunkard, "I like foreign girls like you, thinking the streets at night are safe."

I considered my options. The first would be to run off screaming, which I had neither the energy nor strength to accomplish, and the bulging biceps on his grotesque arm hinted at the massive amount of strength that this drunk might have. The second would be to put my amateur acting skills to the test, and beat him at his own game. No drunk would have control over his wits, and right now he was probably expecting me to resist his advances. I barely recognised the Etsuko that spoke the following words so alluringly.

"I know what you want, but it's going to cost you."

His grip relaxed, and I turned to face him with an authoritative glare. Stepping back with a hint of shock and amusement in his hungry gaze, the lecher regained his smug composure and I took it as a cue to walk around him, trying to lock his gaze onto mine.

"I'll show you a good time," I tried to hide my anxiety and grazed his tattooed arm lightly with my fingertips, feeling the repulsive man shudder at my touch, "close your eyes, count to ten."

I swore if my voice was any more syrupy than this, I would have gotten sick in no time. It pained me that the first seduction I was carrying out was on a drunkard from whom I was trying my best to escape. I saw his eyelids flutter in frustration, and the innocent Etsuko that I had locked away from this scene was screaming inside me, begging my legs to carry me far away from this.

"Uh-uh, no peeking," I chastised, "count out loud. Slowly."

"One...two..." he started obediently.

The bushes on the right next to the playground caught my eye. I could make it there while he was still in this stupor. I turned on my heels, hoping he didn't hear the squeak my converse shoes made for a split second on the gravel.

"Three...four...five..."

The cold air rushed past me, making the swings move a little.

"Six...seven...eight..."

Almost there.

"YOU DAMN WOMAN! HOW DARE YOU LIE TO ME! ALL YOU FEMALES ARE THE SAME!"

Shit.

My face pounded into the gravel, and the world went black.

...

_Er...okay i'm sorry for it being so short. Don't worry Etsu will be fine! I think. Haha. Reviews are much appreciated! =)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Haha. I'm at the third chapter, and somehow I'm enjoying this. A bit too much to put my disclaimers in though. Whoops...so. erm. I don't own Ren and Kyoko, but Etsuko, Kaitou and Kichirou are mine to torture as I please. =)_

_To simplycomplexlove (i'm sorry i squished your name like this, they didn't let me put the fulstops in between) and BluLuna: you guys are WAYY too smart for your own good. Or, it just shows that I'm predictable. Haha._

_Enjoy!_

**CHAPTER 3!**

"I was wondering when you'd wake up," a mellow voice echoed through the loud throbbing in my head.

The events in my mind were jumbled up. Ever have that feeling when you open a brand new jigsaw puzzle box, and the picture meant to be constructed by each of the thousand or so pieces was a never ending sky cape of blue, and you were left confounded on which piece went where? That was how it felt like.

One thing I knew for sure though, was that I couldn't be in heaven. Even though the voice I just heard seemed to be coming from an angel, I still felt dizzy and my muscles were aching all over. My eyes were bleary and I reached out to rub them, but I felt a gentle touch of a warm hand that rested on mine, stopping my fists from reaching anywhere near my face.

"Don't make your eyes red before I even get a chance to see them," the angel cooed, and I relented.

"Who are you?" I inquired groggily, "What happened?"

"I believe I'm the person who just saved your life, and possibly your virginity as well, though I'm not sure about the latter. You _are_ pretty mysterious."

The mist in my mind made itself scarce, and I realised that the last thing I remembered was being tackled to the ground by a lecher twice my size and with, unfortunately, at least half his wits. I hadn't anticipated that he would have suspected me at the count of eight or so, and the miscalculation on my part had cost me my consciousness. But that barely explained why I was now in the arms of another male, thankfully nowhere near as disgusting as that drunkard. On the other hand, anyone that could crack a joke about my virginity or lack thereof after saving me from statutory rape wasn't someone I should be getting too comfortable with either. I struggled to lift myself up into a sitting position, but my headache and sore limbs got the better of me and I slumped back down into his lap like a lifeless rag doll.

"Hey, you okay?"

I could hear concern in his voice. It was calming, melodious. Familiar. It was familiar too. I wondered where I had heard it before.

My heavy eyelids cranked open, and I turned to see my saviour/possibly another potential rapist. Black hair...blue eyes...strong, taut jaw line...that smirk. I knew that smirk.

"There they are. Dark and smouldering. I knew your eyes would be beautiful," his smirk grew a little wider, "don't keep them hidden away so often in class, Etsuko."

"Ah. I knew I'd seen you before somewhere," it clicked and the light bulb in my head glowed, as I managed to sit upright on the bench.

I turned back to him and noticed that he seemed rather disappointed at my reaction.

"Most girls would have swooned at my previous sentence."

"I'm not most girls."

"True. Most girls would not seduce a buff and completely drunk stranger at three in the morning on a deserted street."

He had seen that? And he didn't do anything about it till my head had been smashed against the cold concrete?

"Most guys would help immediately when they see a damsel in distress," my voice dripped with disdain.

"Most guys would have seen the distress. You looked so smug, I sincerely thought I would be watching live pornography."

"Most guys would not have said that aloud."

"I'm not most guys."

"Touché."

A comfortable silence wrapped around us, and I followed his lead as he looked into the sky. It was a deep blue canvas, dotted with stars that shone brightly, something I rarely saw in America, with the lights in the city at night being too intense to see anything else in the sky. I relaxed and let my neck rest on the curve of the metal bench. He shifted a little, and when I turned towards him, I could see that small grin forming on his face again, though he continued gazing at the huge orbs of hydrogen gas burning billions of miles away. _Where had he come from? Who was he?_ I wondered about him. If I was mysterious, then he would be part of a cryptic prophecy from ancient Egypt or the like. At this point, I was too tired to ask any questions, and the silence was not only comfortable, it was no doubt comforting as well. Almost too soon, he slowly heaved himself from the bench, then turned to me and ruffled my hair a bit.

"I guess I'll be seeing you in another four hours. Stay out of trouble till then, okay?"

He seemed to be around Kaitou's height, at least a good 1.8 metres, I estimated as he got up from the bench. Watching him grab a black guitar case, I noticed his arms were lean and muscular, and I assumed he had taken care of the repulsive drunk. He gave me one last smile and turned away. As it hit me that I had yet to thank him or get at least a name, he had already disappeared down the street, leaving me alone once again.

I glanced around the park I was in. I was absolutely sure I had walked at least an hour in one direction – away from home. Yet, this wasn't the same playground I was in before, and as I squinted to focus on a nearby sign, I realised home was just half a block away.

...

It was almost 4.30 when I returned to the Tsuruga residence. I made the extra effort to wipe off any mud on my shoes, and remove any trace of my absence. My parents had incredible eyes for detail, with them having years of experience developing characters, from their personalities right down to their underwear. I heard from Kaitou that Otousan had nearly crushed Okasan's foot while pretending to be two different characters, even without the presence of any cameras. If they found anything amiss in the morning, my head would be on the chopping block. I threw my clothes back into the cupboard, spraying a little deodorant to eradicate the slight odour of alcohol, and then went to the bathroom for a shower. Deciding against going back to sleep, I formulated a believable story that I woke up early to start packing for my move to the apartment. I began compressing the rest of my clothes and belongings into the suitcase that was still half unpacked since my move from America.

At approximately seven, sunlight began streaming in, and the smell of eggs and miso soup in the kitchen wafted around the house, and eventually found its way into my room. My stomach grumbled a little, informing me that it wanted food, and it wanted it fast. I set aside the rest of packing for later, although my mind was far from the move that would happen that afternoon. Settling down at the table after greeting my mother with a bright smile, I shovelled the food down, my grandfather's eating habits having rubbed off on me after spending the last decade or so with him. After my fourth bowl of rice, I felt a little too troubled to finish my normal six bowls, and assured my parents that everything was fine, just that I didn't feel hungry that morning. It was true anyhow, and Otousan offered to drive me to school, or at least a block away where we wouldn't be seen.

Otousan had demanded a kiss on the cheek before I left the car, and I complied, seeing that he would not get kisses from any women other than Okasan. That, and also if I didn't, he would turn his uber scary gentleman's smile on me. None of my family members could withstand the sheer demonic force of that beam, though Okasan had developed her defence over the years, and usually called on Setsuka to deflect it. But when he caught any of us off guard, we were as good as gone.

As I made my way to school a little further down the street, I began running through the events that had occurred within the past few hours. I would discover the identity of my frank classmate soon enough, but there were two other pressing issues that I couldn't take my mind off. It could have been pure chance that he was there to save me, but it was strange enough that any high schooler would be out on the streets of an obscure part of town at the wee hours of the morning, carrying nothing but a guitar. The second point of contention that I had was how he had known where I lived, and also, how had I gotten there. I had been at least a good three kilometres or so away from home, but when I woke up to that lullaby of a voice that he had, I was less than five minutes away from the house I was staying at. Taxis were as rare as spotted leopards; buses and trains had gone extinct like a pack of dodo birds since 1am. All at once, something clicked.

Had he...carried me the whole way?

...

_Yay. I'm actually quite fond of where this story is going. I hope you liked it, and please review! =)_

_Also, check out my other story, She's My Personal Maid, if you're fond of fluff. That's like a giant ball cotton candy for Ren and Kyoko. =)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Haha I'm really addicted to this. Bleh. Sorry for those who are more interested in my other fan fic, no worries i'll update that regularly too, just that i've got so many ideas for this story now it's threatening to burst a blood vessel or two in my brain._

_To genkigeek: you deserve a box of smarties for being just that. XD_

_To yokonoko and chaseafteryourdreams: Thanks! =)_

_Enjoy the rest as usual! I had LOADS of fun writing this. =) _

_(It'll be my last time I'm writing a story as a 15 year old! Haha tomorrow I won't be jailbait anymore. XD)_

**CHAPTER 4!**

I looked at him from across the classroom. My seat at the back had proved effective in sleeping through the boring classes, save the demonic mathematics head, Itsuki sempai. Most of the syllabus had been taught in America, and the change of language affected me to a rather small extent. Thus, I had been sleeping most of my school hours away, but thanks to the strange turn of events early this morning, my thoughts were now fully occupied with him.

I wondered if all high school Japanese guys were the same. Sure, they'd probably rescue a girl from a rapist, but I doubted that any would bother to find out where she lived, and then carry her all the way back, without even waiting for her to regain consciousness. Heck, I doubted that any high schooler, regardless of their gender, would be roaming the back alleys of Japan at 3am, so what were the chances of rape in the first place?

His white shirt was loose around the waist, and had been left carelessly untucked. I compared this to the outfit he had worn yesterday, no, more like this morning. It was vague in my memory, fuzzy was a good word to describe it (my memory, not his clothes), but I did recall seeing him in a t-shirt and a jacket that suited his figure well. His jeans were well worn, frayed a little where they made contact with the road, but the black uniform pants he donned now were smart enough to pass attire check. The rest was a blur, but he looked as laid back now as he did in the early morning. My gaze trailed from his raven hair to his hands. His right palm was supporting his face as he stared into the vast blue sky from his window seat, clearly uninterested in our English teacher. As she prattled on about nouns and verbs, I watched as he tapped his feet to an unknown beat while scribbling something on a well worn leather-bound book every other minute. The pencil in his left hand looked well used too.

"Psst, Etsuko-chan," a heavily accented voice seemed to demand my attention.

"Yeah?" I turned to the classmate on my left, her chocolate eyes twinkling with mischief. Name, name, what was her name? The kanji on the paper she held in her smooth, petite hands caught my eye. "Akane Sakura-san, right?"

She looked rather flattered that I had 'remembered' her name, but I wasn't about to tell her I had just glanced at her worksheet for a hint.

"Good memory, I'm impressed," her big eyes suddenly seemed inquisitive, "you've been staring at Yuuichi the whole day, you know."

At this point, about four other girls with impeccably acute hearing seemed to have turned our way, smiling just as Sakura was, though theirs was verging on condescending. In fact, they looked like carbon copies of Sakura, their hair and clothes identical to a T. Yuuichi, was it? It fit. He was rather distant, and must be the first son of his family. Sakura continued with whatever she had to say, and this time, her voice was laced with a subtle warning.

"Are you...interested?"

Now, I knew what she was hinting at, but I decided that ambiguity would be answered with ambiguity. I liked being straightforward with others, but only if they didn't beat about the bush while talking to me. If this seemingly harmless conversation turned into a war of words, I wanted her to be the one waving a white flag, and a huge one at that.

"Well, that depends," I beamed back at her, "are you?"

She seemed stunned, and I heard a collective gasp from her clones, along with a couple of wide eyed stares from classmates a row in front. I knew I had hit the nail right smack on the head, and it seemed like something had pierced through Sakura too, as she flinched. Instead of moving back, she leaned towards my desk, and her slender arm shot out to grab mine just above the elbow.

"I see that a ... diplomatic approach will not work with you," she hissed like a highly venomous snake that had been provoked, "you WILL stay away from Yuuichi, or the rest of your life in Youdai High will be a living hell."

Scrap the snake. She was a cranky cat that had lost one too many lives, and was now working for the devil to repay her debts. Her claws, all five ridiculously long and sharp manicured nails, sank into my flesh, and I suspected she had filed them into points for this very reason. I give her credit for choosing a spot that inflicted the most pain, but the scars would be hidden by my sleeve when, or if she ever let go. It hurt, but I had learned to control and feign emotions from the very best, and was careful to show no trace of fear or shock.

"In that case, I'm interested," I smiled sweetly at her.

"What?" The barely controlled screech came as she dug her nails into my skin even more, and I swore she had drawn blood.

"I'm in-te-res-ted," I repeated slowly, enunciating all my syllables like she was low on the IQ count. "There, I've answered your original question. Would you like to ask me anything else?"

I loved the flabbergasted look on her face, as well as the replicas of it on her minions, but I had a feeling I just made my first mortal enemy. Though I'd much rather she be my enemy than my friend. Sakura continued to torture my arm, and I wondered if her nails would break from the intense pressure she was putting into her grip.

"Etsuko, you can get to know Akane-san better before or after my class, preferably not during," she scowled at me, and then grinned brightly at Sakura, "was Etsuko disturbing you?"

"Hitomi sempai...Etsuko...she...she wanted to copy my answers for the piece of work you just gave!" Sakura's face had morphed into one of a maligned puppy. "Even though she's from America, my English is better than hers, and she's jealous!"

I felt my gag reflexes act up.

"HIZURI ETSUKO! Cheating is not condoned in this school! I'll be seeing you in detention!"

Wait. What about my side of the story? Even the teachers in America seemed less liberal with those blasted detention slips. I had never gotten one in my life, and here I was, getting one within the first week of my school in my motherland. I turned back to the vicious girl who had resumed her scornful gaze.

"I warned you. You'll be sorry you even tried anything with me," she chuckled ominously, "too bad. With your sharp tongue, I could have considered making you one of my closer friends. I always need people like you around, but without the crush on _my_ Yuuichi."

Suddenly, a loud snore was heard from the left side of the classroom. All thirty nine students and one irate teacher turned to its source, and found a black-haired sleeping beauty next to an open window. We could feel the heat of an erupting volcano, and the subject of Sakura's affections was slapped with detention by Hitomi sempai for sleeping in class.

The bell rung and the teacher dismissed the class, before slamming detention slips on both Yuuichi's desk and mine. My plans to shift whatever belongings I had to the apartment were automatically scrapped, and I sighed in contempt while rubbing the stinging spot on my right arm. I lifted my bag with my left, thankfully still intact, and walked out into the hallway, staring at the slip. It made no mention about where the room was, only that if I wasn't there within the next ten minutes I would be serving another week's worth of it. I scanned the numerous signs, but someone else caught my eye and I grinned widely.

"HIKARU!" I waved with my left arm, and the brown haired senior hurriedly came to my side.

Yashiro Hikaru was like my third brother, and I dare say I had spent more time with him than my actual blood brothers. Whenever Otousan came to America for each year's quarterly photo shoot, Hikaru would accompany me at home while our fathers worked. He told me all about how my family was doing in Japan, the life he had in school, the running away from middle school girls when they found out his dad worked alongside THE Tsuruga Ren. In exchange, I confided in him about my loneliness in America, and one or two immature school girl crushes I had kept secret from everyone else.

"ETSU!" He flashed me a blinding smile and pulled me into a hug, oblivious to the throngs of girls that had already begun whispering.

I flinched as he grasped my arm, and to my dismay, he noticed it. Anxiousness was wallpapered over the joy on his face, the same expression he made whenever I scraped a knee while climbing a tree, or tripped over my own feet. I bit my lower lip as he squinted suspiciously at my right arm, and then raised the sleeve of the white shirt.

"Etsuko, what the heck happened?" He asked, barely concealing his anger.

"I'll tell you if you'll show me the way to detention," I heaved another sigh and waved the detention slip in front of his shocked face.

...

"I'm not just pissed at Sakura, I'm furious with your classmates. I can't believe nobody told you that she's the daughter of the school's leading monetary donor," Hikaru spat as we neared the detention room. "She gets whatever she wants, and the teachers worship the ground she walks on, just because she's got her dad wrapped around that bony finger of hers. She's gotten her father to fire at least five teachers who didn't give her an A for assignments. Akane Sakura controls the school, dammit, and most of us just try to stay off the radar."

"So she's probably formulating plans for my expulsion right now, isn't she," my eyebrows furrowed, "what other high schools are there around here, which are preferably void of any tyrannical dictator?"

"She won't get you expelled. She hates you too much for that already," Hikaru began, "besides, I do have some credit among my friends in the basketball club, so once they know you're with me, she can't expel you without damaging her popularity levels."

"This sounds vaguely like a role-playing game."

"You annoy her, she expels you. You challenge her, and she'll want to see you suffer and fall before kicking your limp butt into the incinerator."

"So to survive, I have to make sure my butt doesn't go limp," I grinned cheekily.

"I would suggest you transfer out ASAP," he stopped in his tracks and gave a weak smile, "but knowing you..."

"When have I ever gone down without a fight?"

"Never," Hikaru beamed, "and you have my support. I've seen too many people crumble at the disgustingly perfect manicured hands of Sakura. Etsu, you probably have Natsu's blood flowing in you more than your own mother's."

"Oh, they're one and the same," I felt menace in my gaze, and Hikaru waved before disappearing down the hallway to basketball practice.

I opened the door to the detention room, and feeling a little charged up from the pep talk with Hikaru, I marked my attendance and sat facing a depressingly grey wall. I fished my writing pad out, fantasizing about different ways I could wreck the empire Akane ruled in Youdai High. I barely noticed the student that entered next, even when he had put his head right beside mine and whispered into my ear.

"Etsuko, Etsuko, Etsuko, didn't I tell you to stay out of trouble?"

...

_Whee! Ooh i wrote past midnight. Haha. I'm sixteen now! XD Review as a birthday present! XD I really hope you liked it!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Yeah! Haha I've gotten plenty of positive reviews for the story, so I can only hope that you'll enjoy the rest. Thanks to everybody that's reading and reviewing, especially reviewing, cuz it means a lot to me! =)_

**Chapter 5!**

"You do realise you're the reason I'm here," I sighed when the teacher in charge seemed satisfied that we were doing our own work, and had left the room an hour before our intended dismissal.

"Oh? Why's that?" He flashed a sly smile.

"Your girlfriend seems to think I have designs on you."

"So I heard," he saw my puzzled face and went on to explain. "Everyone in class was aware of that little cat fight at the back when it happened, Etsuko. Feigning ignorance was tough. Those who get on Sakura's bad side are few and far between."

"Why didn't anybody tell me she was some wealthy, spoilt brat?"

"You slept most of the week away. We couldn't tell you even if we wanted to," that smirk of his was coming back. "So, you like me now?"

"Yes, I've fallen in love with you overnight and have been considering the prospect of raping you instead," I shot him a weary glance, "I'm not interested, I just think you're interesting. All I wanted to do was let Sakura know I'm no pushover, but now I've got a whole situation on my hands. Any advice?"

"Transfer out," he seemed to be unaffected by the first half of my previous sentence, "or continue driving her insane."

"Hikaru suggested the first, but I've taken a liking to the latter," I chuckled under my breath.

"Hikaru?" Yuuichi looked slightly taken aback, "Yashiro Hikaru? How'd you know him?"

Crap.

"Erm, he showed me the way to detention?" Now that wasn't a lie.

"And you told a senior you've never seen before all about the commotion in class, plus he offered you advice without looking at you weird?" He eyed me suspiciously.

"Well, I did get saved by a random stranger whom I'm talking to right now," I began defensively, but I knew he didn't believe me; his clear blue eyes conveying just that.

"Fine," he turned away and glanced at the sky beyond the window, "I don't have to know now. But when you know you can trust me, tell me."

I wasn't sure what to make of that last sentence. Was he so sure that I would trust him one day? He certainly seemed to think so. However, I sighed in resignation and relief, thankful that he hadn't pursued the matter. It was safe to assume that he wasn't romantically linked with Sakura, with him encouraging me to drive her up the wall with a monster truck of sorts. He fished out the tattered leather bound notebook and began tapping his pencil against the desk, while I returned to formulating calculated plans of Sakura's gradual descent into insanity.

A good twenty minutes had passed before my stomach started to gurgle, informing me that all it had digested in the past nine hours or so had been four bowls of rice and miso soup in the morning, and that this was unacceptable. My body's metabolic rate had been on an eternal hundred metre dash since I was born, and this made me unable to abstain from food for inhumanly long periods of time, unlike Otousan, who reminded me of a camel with almost no need for water. Okasan always chided him for overworking himself to the point of skipping meals, and once Kaitou and Kichirou nearly starved to death when Okasan was out of town for filming, since Otousan had forgotten that my brothers were actually human and needed continual sustenance, no matter how similar they were to him.

The irate body part growled again, this time a little more menacingly. Yuuichi seemed to have heard this, and looked up from his work.

"You skipped lunch, didn't you?"

"I didn't want to risk being late and serve another week's worth of time in this hellhole." My stomach expressed its contempt once more, and I looked down at it, annoyed, "oh shush. The sacrifice was both noble and necessary."

A genuine smile flashed across Yuuichi's face as he burst into peals of laughter. It was the first time I had heard it; pure, unadulterated joy, unmarred by sarcasm, untainted by any double meaning. I sensed that he rarely laughed like that, and it was a pity; it sounded angelic. I watched as he threw his belongings into his backpack, and then heaved it over his shoulder before glancing at me.

"The only thing that will keep it quiet is food," he grinned, "come on, pack up."

As we set off towards the canteen, Yuuichi caught my eye and smiled calmly.

"You know what?" He started, his voice sounded a little more serious, "I think you're interesting too."

...

For the record, Yuuichi was the first guy who hadn't expressed shock at the amount of food I had procured. The tray was sagging under the weight of all the dishes I had piled up on the once horizontal piece of plastic, which was now squeaking with cries for mercy. As I polished off my second burger after three bowls of ramen, Yuuichi had filled me in about Youdai High, the yearly festivals and events, as well as clubs that I could choose to join if I wanted to. Surfacing for air, I nodded at the information I had been given, and then plunged back to devour one more bowl of soup.

"Remind me never to challenge you to an eating competition," Yuuichi remarked as I finally put down my wooden chopsticks, and then looked at his watch and sighed a little.

"Do you have to be somewhere else? It is getting late," my watch read five in the afternoon, and even students who had extra activities were starting to leave school.

"Yeah, I've got –"

"Yuuichi, it's rare to see you stay back in school," a cheery voice exclaimed from behind, and I turned to see a girl with short brown hair, her school blazer a different colour from the rest of the student body. "Ah, you must be Etsuko! Just transferred here this week right?"

I nodded at the girl that beamed at me with such a sunny disposition, though not overly excited to the point of being annoying. Her brown fringe brushed the top of her thin-framed glasses, and as she approached nearer our table I realised that she was a little older than we were.

"Kaichou," Yuuichi greeted, then introduced her to me, "Etsuko, this is Aya sempai, out school council president. Kaichou, Hitomi sensei sent us to detention, that's why we're still in school."

Kaichou seemed a little puzzled, and she tilted her head questioningly to one side, looking to Yuuichi for an explaination.

"Sakura happened."

"Oh my gosh. That junior who pissed Sakura off was you?" Kaichou's green eyes widened in shock, and then she grinned, "Girl, you've got guts!"

"Kaichou, show Etsu around school," Yuuichi got up from the table, "I'm going off."

"Sure. Etsuko, let's go."

...

"Etsuko, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"How'd you manage to provoke that tigress anyway? She was angry enough to storm down the hallway and gather all her lackeys to gab the latest news to them," Kaichou turned to me worriedly, "has she done anything to you?"

As Yuuichi seemed to trust Aya-sempai a fair bit, I told her all that had happened, save the wounds Sakura had inflicted on my arm with her deadly nails. Kaichou laughed when I told her how shocked Sakura looked as I goaded her, and then scoffed when I mentioned that she had falsely accused me of copying her answers.

"That Sakura's full of crap," Kaichou spat the words out, like they tasted disgusting on her tongue.

"What did she do to you?" I wondered what other heinous crimes she had committed against other innocents.

"When she knew that I was going to become council president at the start of the year, she almost got me expelled, just because she knew I didn't fawn over her like the others," Kaichou's eyes gleamed with fury, "my mom's ill and my dad left us when I was younger, so I don't have the money to transfer out or even take transport to a school in any other prefecture. Sakura knew all this, and yet she still went ahead to convince her father I had rigged the votes."

I was flabbergasted. Honestly, I thought Hikaru had been joking about people getting expelled, yet the school's very own council president had almost been a victim of it.

"Fortunately a few other influential seniors put their own reputations on the line to vouch for me, so the case was dropped," Kaichou smirked at me, her bright aura returning, "but be on your guard. She's pretty sly."

"Why doesn't anyone speak up against her?" The moment that left my mouth, I felt rather foolish, but Kaichou answered it even though it was so blatantly obvious.

"We can't afford to lose her father as a sponsor. The school needs the funds badly," Kaichou heaved a sigh, "like to install better firewalls in the system. Remind me to upgrade some software later or Sakura will use even that to malign me again."

"What happened to the firewall? Some virus?" I inquired, wondering what information was so secret that it had to be guarded so safely.

"It's been hacked twice this week. No information was stolen though; it seems that somebody just scanned through the files."

"Why would someone risk hacking the system twice? Wouldn't it increase the chances of getting caught for it?"

"No, it was two different people, and if I remember correctly, the read the same information from one of the newer files," her green eyes narrowed as she processed the information in her mind, and then the orbs widened in shock, "Etsuko, do you have any idea why anyone would want to know your home address?"

...

Kaichou hurried me into the student council room, turning on the computer and waiting as it started up, flooding the room with an eerie blue light. She logged into the school's database, and then tried to trace the IP addresses. The search was futile, and both hackers were professional enough to have had cleared almost all traces of evidence of their past presence. Kaichou sighed, rubbed her temples, and turned to face me.

"So..." she began with a glint in her eyes, "why were you paying more attention to Yuuichi in the first place?"

"I...just found him a little different from the others," I replied tentatively, not wanting to divulge that morning's happenings.

"True, Yuuichi's not your average teenager," I was glad that she didn't question me any further, and listened as she continued, "he lives alone, and doesn't talk about his family. There's a truckload of girls that are fond of him, but no one dares to make a move because of 'she-who-shall-not-be-named'."

I laughed a little at the reference, and then let my curiosity get the better of me.

"Do you like him too, Kaichou?"

"Nope," she averted her eyes from mine and blushed lightly, "I've loved this other senior ever since I came to Youdai, but he doesn't know that I've got feelings for him. Heck, I doubt he even knows I exist. Anyhow, do you like Yuuichi for real?"

"Nah, just wanted to piss Sakura off." I grinned cheekily.

"Well, he's a nice guy. Though he's a little aloof and doesn't have a club at all, he helps me with administrative work sometimes, especially when I'm swamped," she smiled at me, her spunk returning, "the both of you seemed to be getting along just now, so I can safely say that he'll protect you from Sakura as much as he can."

I nodded as she shifted the topic to school life, filling in any gaps Yuuichi might have left, and I listened to whatever information she gave me. After my new address had been save in the database, I offered to accompany her till she finished updating the firewall, then decided to head home to move my belongings to the new apartment.

Kaichou called my name one last time that afternoon before we headed our separate ways. I turned to face her, and what she said made my heart feel a little out of sorts for a tiny moment.

"You should spend more time with Yuuichi. I've never seen him smile like that before."

...

_Yay. I'm sorry I haven't posted much this past week, school, studying, yada yada. Coffee is officially my best friend, and I've lost a good friend too. He's called 'sleep'. But I really hope you liked it, so a BIG thank you for reading this story! =) _

_Oh oh. Click the review button too. He's feeling a little lonely. Awww... XD_


	6. Chapter 6

_Okay, I'm sorry for not updating and such. I'm already going nuts and it seems whenever I feel I need a break, (I consider writing a huge relief and relaxation) my mind tells me I haven't studied enough, and then I go right back to the books. So now, I've decided to let my frazzled mind rest and do what it likes to do best, write. =)_

_Oh, and a great thanks to soprano-in-waiting, who pointed out that Hikaru's surname is Yashiro, not Yukihito, so i've changed it. Huge apologies if I confused anyone. _

_I'd also like to thank pyama for giving me the idea of a parent-teacher meeting! Lots of opportunities to exploit Ren/Kyoko scenes there._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing as well! Hope you like chapter 6! =)_

**Chapter 6!**

Kaitou had been free late that night, and after his autograph session at around eleven, he had managed to lose the heard of screaming fans to help me shift over to the new apartment. His sleek, black convertible drew ogles from every star struck homosapien on the street, so Okasan insisted he drive a less conspicuous vehicle to my abode. My eldest brother parked the family Honda in the basement (that car was only used when any Tsuruga needed to make a discreet getaway from hysterical fans), and then picked up my luggage and two other boxes in one swift movement. I reached for a box, not wanting to burden my brother, even though I knew he could handle it with ease. Kaitou handed me the cardboard cube, then ruffled my hair a little before he locked the car.

"Etsu, we all love you, that's why we're letting you make decisions on your own," Kaitou stepped into the well maintained elevator, and I followed.

"Kai, I know that," I turned away, "but sometimes I wish I wasn't so different from everyone, especially you."

The lift door opened and he led me to the apartment at the end of the corridor on the sixteenth floor, which was right next to the staircase. Kaitou fished out a card and inactivated the lock on the glossy apartment door, which slid open soundlessly and granted us entrance. I watched as he set the box and suitcase in a corner of the already furnished flat, left the key card on the coffee table and took a step back to inspect the cosy apartment. I glanced around as well; the place was well furbished, with a small kitchen, and a hallway that led to a rather spacious bathroom, and opposite that, an equally spacious bedroom. That bedroom was mine now, a bedroom without the baby pink wallpaper. Had I really thought I'd be able to live normally with my multiple Oscar-bestowed family? I knew they loved me, I knew that they wanted me to stay. Okasan hadn't wanted to let me go half an hour earlier, squeezing the air out of me in a vacuum-tight hug while shedding silent tears, apologizing softly that she hadn't protected me enough. Not enough from the cruel, bloodthirsty, dog eat dog world of showbiz. They loved me too much to put me through all of that pain.

But didn't they know I loved them as well?

I loved the time I could spend with them more than I loved my privacy. I couldn't care less about the press or the attention, even the inability to lead a normal life. But I never told them that, just because I loved them too. Having yet another child in the business would multiply the grey hair count tenfold.

Comforting arms encircled me, and I turned around and hugged my favourite brother in return. (Sorry, Kichirou.)

"You want to become an actress, don't you," Kaitou released me gently.

"Anything," I murmured, "I'd do anything to close the gap between all four of you and myself."

"You should tell Okasan and Otousan just that," he sighed, "I'm sorry I can't do anything, but I'm warning you, it's a scary world out there."

"I wouldn't be scared, I'd have Okasan, Otousan, you, Kichirou," I paused a while and gave a wan smile, "no scrap Kichirou, he'd sell me out for a bunch of pretty starlets."

"And there's the real Etsuko I know and love," he grinned, "don't lose her."

"Ah enough with the mushy stuff. Get out of here and get some sleep so you'll treat my future sister-in-law nice during filming tomorrow," I shoved my sputtering and blushing brother out of the apartment, and then slammed the door shut, "and don't you dare come back till you've found the guts to ask her out on a date!"

I glanced through the peephole to see him beam, then turn to leave. My own smile lingered for a while, and I made my way to the bedroom. It was large enough for a couple, and my father had rented the one right next to the staircase just because it was slightly roomier than the rest. The digital alarm clock next to the warm-looking bed glowed a soft shade of blue, gently informing me that it was already twelve, and coaxing me to sink into the velvet softness of the duvet.

Crawling under the covers, I realised that no matter how warm the blanket looked on the outside, despite knowing that the warmth would come in time, it was still freezing cold when I slipped into the sheets.

...

"Okasan, you can be anyone you like, just not Natsu, or even worse, Setsu," I tapped the side of the couch in my parent's living room, watching my mother as she came out of her walk-in-closet dressed in something a little too revealing for the parent-teacher meeting the next day.

"You're not wearing that," Otousan said sternly, a possessive look clouding over his face as he stalked over to Okasan and promptly pointed at the closet. "Change. Now."

"You said office wear!" Okasan protested, "it looks fine, doesn't it Etsu?"

"When Otousan says office wear, he doesn't mean the costume you wore while seducing your boss in that drama two years ago," I chuckled a little as Otousan's face turned even darker, while Okasan stared at me cluelessly.

"Kyoko, you're supposed to be a professional businesswoman and a parent of a well-bred teenager no less. Surely someone of that status would want to dress modestly to leave a good impression, wouldn't she?" Otousan had that creepy false smile plastered all over his face, barely hiding the menacing aura behind it. "Now, go change."

Okasan's eyes widened and she snapped into character, the busied herself with preparing her attire. Otousan slumped into the empty space on the couch beside me, and heaved a sigh. He had already picked out his outfit for tomorrow; Tsuruga Ren was posing as a stay-at-home dad, a grunge artist of sorts. The three of us had collectively decided that my father could not enter the school compounds in a suit, for we all knew how much attention he would draw in one, being tall, lean, muscular, etc. (Okasan can tell you the details.) Otousan had settled for a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized hoodie. Too bad nothing could completely conceal his dazzling radiance, but at least the messy get up would deter most people from recognising him. To add on to the disguise, he decided to dye his hair back to blonde and assume his true identity as an American, since my own yellow locks had to have come from somewhere.

"Leave a good impression my foot," I was still grinning, "you just don't want Okasan to appear in any of the fathers' or male faculty's wet dreams for the next month."

"Hmph," Otousan sulked and turned, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on, you've always been jealous when it comes to Okasan," I burst out laughing once more, "Uncle Yashiro told me you spirited her away from a dark moon set the same second you realised some other guy was just interested to see her in Natsu's costume."

"Wow it's late. I'm sending you home after this Etsu," he turned to me with a smile so bright I winced.

At this moment, Okasan stepped out of the closet. I wondered if she was literally a closet businesswoman. Her black hair had been neatly bunned, and a light layer of rouge dusted her cheeks, making her taut jaw line even more defined than it already was. A simple white collared shirt was coupled inside a jet black power suit, with a tasteful but lustrous knee-length skirt of the same shade. Her black pumps and briefcase completed the no-nonsense look. If there had been a world record on how far jaws could drop, Otousan and I would have broken it by a mile or so. The bubbly Okasan I knew so well had vanished, and in place was a woman whose unfazed glance held mine with cool, distant eyes.

"Close your mouth. It's unfit of any daughter of mine to gape at others," she whispered in my ear, admonishing me, but without disgracing me in front of anyone who might be watching, just like a refined boss of an international company chiding her subordinate.

Her tone condoned no disobedience, and my jaw promptly snapped back into its rightful place. My eyes were still wide though, and I had been so mesmerized by Okasan that I failed to see Otousan's reaction till she had left my side and made her way to him. He had been equally stunned by her transformation from a office assistant/hooker to a high-flying professional.

"Why do you seem so surprised to see me home?" Okasan calmly made her way to the front door and left her shoes next to it, then set her briefcase down neatly. "I return after a long day's work and you two turn into gaping goldfishes."

Otousan suddenly snapped out of his stupor and got off the sofa with a welcoming grin on his face.

"You must be tired, let me warm up dinner," Otousan had barely stepped away from the couch when he was roughly shoved back onto it.

"I want you for my main course," Okasan straddled my father, and I could see pure shock engraved on his face.

Otousan didn't even have time to recover from that, as after my mother had blatantly attacked him, she went on to give him a steamy kiss full on the lips, tongue and all. Her commanding presence made me unable to turn away from the risqué scene, and I stifled a laugh as Otousan's terror turned into blatant lust and desire. Even though my father was normally the one "jelly-fying" my mother, the tables were now turned as she refused to give him dominance, swatting his roaming hands away from what he was aching to touch, while still lavishing attention on his lips. Otousan gave a few groans of frustration as Okasan swiped his hands away from her chest and thigh. I fanned myself a little and decided to leave before I saw how either Kaitou, Kichirou or myself came into existence in this world. It must have been one heck of an entrance.

Just as suddenly as Okasan had begun, she pulled back and folded her arms, though still seated in my father's lap.

"I'm not done yet," he growled.

"Who cares if you're not? I am," she replied flatly, as if dismissing an unwanted visitor from her office, "anyway, aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" He spat out in frustration.

"You want our traumatised daughter to make her own way back to her apartment in the dead of the night?"

Otousan turned to me, his dilated pupils showing his confusion, then his sheer embarrassment. I gave a tiny smile and waved, as if trying to remind my father of who I was after he had suffered a sudden attack of amnesia. He swiftly lifted the businesswoman off his lap, her clothes slightly rumpled from his earlier (albeit futile) efforts to rip them into shreds.

"Look, you messed up my clothes as well. Didn't I say I'd need them tomorrow, you impatient man?" She said tersely, with a hint of disappointment, and my father couldn't help but flinch, then obey as she bustled us both out of the door. "I also told you I'd have you for my main course. That was just the appetizer."

I had never seen my father drive that fast.

...

_Hahaha. All the fluff. I couldn't help it once I realised Kyoko's gonna play a role for the parent teacher meeting. Oh well, more torture for Ren! =)_

_All reviewers get a freshly baked digital cookie, made with the finest megapixels. XD_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7!**

"Etsuko has been not been paying much attention in her classes, but regardless, she is intelligent and has been able to keep up with her lessons," Itsuki sensei glanced at me, then at my parents, who were both frowning a little after having been told about my misconduct.

"Jet lag?" I grinned sheepishly.

"That's no excuse," my mother said coolly, then turned back to my demonic mathematics and homeroom teacher. "We'll see to it that she does not repeat this mistake. Apologize, now."

"Gomennasai, Itsumi sensei," I tried to sound as sincere as possible, though I could tell both my parents weren't fooled by my third-rate acting.

It had already been two weeks since I had entered Youdai High. Both Kaichou and Hikaru had been right; Sakura had pulled some strings and managed to double my cleaning duties, as well as spread the word that if anyone even made eye contact with me, they would be ancient history. Even the teachers turned a blind eye to her disdain towards me, and I wasn't surprised. It wasn't very different from back in America, where people avoided me because of my ambiguous background and Japanese features. However, Kaichou and Hikaru were on my side, and Yuuichi talked to me just enough to deter Sakura from advancing any further.

Unfortunately, the parent-teacher meeting today was only for my parents, as I was new to the school and Itsuki sensei wanted to speak with them about my misbehaviour in class, and also his concerns on my lack of interaction with my classmates. Okasan assured him that I was reserved by nature, and might take some time to warm up to my peers, though I could see Otousan raise an eyebrow at me, and possibly entertaining the thought of questioning Hikaru on why his social life and mine had such a stark difference.

My mother did most, or rather all, of the talking, like a seasoned lawyer answering all the questions of her client, and inquiring about her own doubts. Itsuki sensei seemed pleased to discover that the parents of a certain defiant brat (me) were rather cooperative, and smiled at them as they took their leave.

"Oh," Itsuki sensei added as they were about to leave the classroom, staring a little at Okasan, "has anyone told you that you look like Tsuruga Kyoko? She's such a great actress."

"Yes, I have heard that before," she gave a slight smile, "thanks for the compliment, sensei."

...

"Okay, Etsuko, continue with the low profile," Okasan turned to me as we left the staffroom.

"Okasan, low profile? My homeroom teacher already saw the resemblance in half an hour," I replied, slightly amused, "and Otousan, maybe you shouldn't come here anymore. That's the third girl who's swooned because of you."

My father turned his uncharacteristically blonde head to see a female teenager that had recently slumped against her locker with a slight drool, while other groups of school girls ogled him from a distance. I wondered if this would garner more attention than my tiff with Sakura, while my stunning parents made their way out of the compounds.

"Why didn't you say anything to Etsuko's teacher, dearest?" Okasan asked Otousan in a monotone as they walked down the hallway in the opposite direction.

"If I did, he would have sensed the jealousy in my voice," Otousan murmured in his low voice, taking the opportunity to explore other facets of this interesting character his wife had created, and letting his wide palm linger around her waist.

All the students in the hallway seemed to be watching this amazing couple, so engrossed in each other that they had failed to notice the gathering crowds.

"You already know I'm yours, was last night not a reminder enough?"

The hallway went dead silent, while numerous eyes widened, and countless eyebrows rose.

"No it wasn't."

I pitied the janitors; they would have a tough time cleaning up blood later from all the nosebleeds.

"Ah, you greedy man," she sighed in slight contempt, "anyone told you greed isn't good for business?"

"That's why you need to teach me the rules."

"Rule number one: no hanky-panky in public."

I watched my mother pace off rhythmically in the direction of the car park as if nothing had occurred, and left my smirking father behind to catch up with her. With his long strides, he was soon by her side again, as if he was a faithful canine following his much respected master. My schoolmates were still slightly taken aback by the intensity of the recent scene that had unfolded, and the hallways were deathly silent long after my mother's footwear had ceased the "click clack" echoes that it produced as she walked along the corridor. As the shock wore off, I heard plenty of comments from the students that had witnessed the drama.

"Did you see that blonde? I bet you he's hiding his washboards abs from the rest of the world!"

"Isn't he taken? It's such a pity! No wonder it took such a woman to get him. Aw man I wish I had a figure like her. She's got curves in ALL the right places. Businesswoman too. Beauty AND brains."

"Who _are _they?"

"That exchange student's parents!"

"Her father and mother are so beautiful, but what happened to her?"

"God wasn't paying attention, I suppose."

"HAHAHA! What a pity!"

I felt like dealing with these foul-mouthed peers in the same way I had dealt with Sakura, rebutting whatever they had said with a spoonful of tact and a dollop of wit. At that moment, however, I realised that starting a commotion would be a recipe for disaster. They would throw my parents into the mix of insults; separate me from them like one sifts flour, taking the useless, unwanted clumps away from the soft and refined wheat that everybody desires. I knew when I had the upper hand in disputes, and this was not one of those times.

I tried to leave the hallway with my head held high, but it was near impossible for me to achieve this seemingly effortless task. It was as if all my insecurities had been confirmed; that this would be how the world would treat me, with disdain and warped sympathy, for being nothing like the rest of my family. My tear glands waged a war of epic proportions with the last few shreds of my injured pride. Just as I turned a corner to a corridor with almost no human traffic, I felt a pair of warm hands suddenly rest themselves over my ears, like giant, comforting earmuffs.

"Don't listen to a word they say," this familiar voice was firm and unwavering.

"Hi...Hikaru?" I stammered a little, as one would usually do after having their ears covered without warning.

"You are in no way inferior to anyone. Those that put others down are the ones who have no courage, so don't listen to cowards."

I could feel a tear escape, and I hurried to control the torrents that were threatening to pour. Lowering my heavy head, I nodded wordlessly to convey my understanding.

"Feel better now?" His voice changed back to the jovial one that I was more accustomed to.

"Very much, thanks," turning towards Hikaru, I gave him a wide, grateful smile.

"Anytime. Remember, the Etsuko I know never goes down without a fight. Hey, wanna watch me do my thing at the basketball club later?" Hikaru offered.

"Maybe I'll drop by," I considered the idea, then smirked a little, "what do you think those rumour mongers will have to say if they see me eyeing both the basketball captain AND Sakura's beau?"

"Ooh, I sense my lovely, beautifully dark and scheming Etsuko making her overdue reappearance," Hikaru returned the sadistic smile, "see you later then!"

I watched as Yashiro Hikaru traipsed down the hallway, and then disappeared as he headed in the direction of the gymnasium. He had been a major source of comfort yet again, and even though the burden I carried around wasn't completely gone, a huge weight had been lifted off my back. I wondered how much lonelier I would feel without the mere knowledge that I had a friend whom I could trust, who would be there when I needed him. My converse shoes tapped against the well-polished floor, as I set off in the opposite direction towards class, where I would finish my cleaning duties before stopping by to watch Hikaru practice. Though he did not manage the schedules of others like his father, his own life revolved around a plan that was exact to the minute, which was another reason he could manage his time so efficiently and effectively. Despite finding this trait of his admirable, I couldn't picture myself counting the seconds when I ate or slept, and I could never imagine how Hikaru had gained such amazing discipline. His mother had probably whipped him into shape, and I laughed a little at the thought. She would have shown no mercy even though he was the only child.

My classroom door slid open as I tugged on it, and I stared in horror at the mess I was to clean up. The blackboard was covered in obscenities, especially in the corners that were hard to reach. The class files were in complete disarray, and the chairs were cruelly divorced from their desks. Sweet wrappers littered the floor, even though eating was strictly banned anywhere else except the cafeteria. Magazines and posters joined the foray on the dismal grey tiles. Toilet paper (of which its origins I greatly feared), hung from the ceiling fans like giant streamers, attached with what looked like gobs of gum.

I swore that it had been relatively hygienic when I had left it an hour earlier during class to join my parents as they met Itsuki sensei. The weary wheels in my head creaked as they turned, I realised that my parents had created that scene just minutes after everyone was dismissed, and something as eventful as that would have been news to students who had just been forced to sit through an entire morning of drudgery. And news, as I had come to discover, travels fast.

Giving Sakura plenty of time to make the classroom a complete pig-sty in sheer envy of my parent's unrivalled allure.

I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to see Hikaru play basketball that afternoon.

...

I hauled the black trash bag out of the once-filthy room, pleased with my efforts over the last hour. The clock read 4pm, and I had already cleared the litter on the ground, and made sure the desk and chairs were reunited with their respective partners. The cabinets and files had been put back in their rightful spots, and the blackboard was set free from its recent vulgar shackles. Posters hung peacefully on the notice boards. The only thing left was the disturbing rolls of toilet paper that were draped over blades of the ceiling fans, secured by gum.

I knew oil would work, but I didn't bring any. (What a shocker. EVERYONE brings oil to school on a daily basis. It's a basic necessity!) Thus, I resigned to sacrificing my ruler to scrape off the gooey remains after pulling out most of the toilet paper, as intact as humanely possible. Of the things I recommend not to do while tip toeing on unstable tables, it would be scraping gum off ceiling fans. However, it seemed like the most plausible idea at the time, and I had managed to eradicate the gum on one fan just as the clock told me it was 4.30.

One down, five to go.

On my fourth fan, I noticed that my knees were a little shaky. I ignored the trembling at first, as I focused on cleaning up the rubbery pink substance that had latched itself onto the fan. When I was packing up the class earlier, the tasks were varied, thus leaving me with less mental energy to think about that day's occurrences. I noticed the monotony of gum scraping after a while, and my thoughts about my parents started to creep in again. _Maybe, I was a mistake. Maybe I shouldn't have existed. Maybe God wasn't paying attention on the day I was created. Maybe, just maybe._ My arms ached from contorting themselves so that I could get the gum off, and the muscles in my calves made their resentment known. I grit my teeth, forcing my wrist to twist just a little more to get that wretched substance away from the plastic.

Now, picture a relatively inflexible teenage girl going against nature to convolute her limbs while teetering precariously on the edge of a flimsy desk. The forces of gravity have not been widely known for their merciful deeds, as this immalleable teenage girl was about to find out.

Once I could no longer feel the edge of the table beneath my blistered toes, I safely assumed that I was falling. The sudden rush of air behind me confirmed my suspicions, and I braced myself for a hard knock against another desk behind me. I wondered if they would hold my funeral in the classroom, possibly use toilet paper to mummify my accursed body and send me into the realms of the underworld. I may not be able to have a peaceful afterlife, but at the very least, it was comforting to know that I would have toilet paper. At this moment, I envisioned my head colliding with concrete once more, and this time, it would finish its job.

But what I least expected was to feel taut flesh cushioning my fall, and strong arms encircling me from behind.

...

_Haha. There ya go, a cliff hanger. _

_I'M SORRY! _

_*ducks and avoids the rotten tomatoes being flung with fury*_

_Haha. I bet you can figure out who it is. Thanks for reading, and please review!_


	8. Chapter 8

_I don't own skip beat. Sad, aint it? XD_

**Chapter 8!**

For one, I didn't really know that the floor could be that warm, or that comforting. I almost felt as if I could lie on this wonderful floor forever, but it struck me all at once that this unnatural floor just might not be a floor after all. I was also wondering why floors nowadays clung on tightly to the waists of those who lay on it. I found it slightly hard to breathe, and I wasn't sure if it was due to something squeezing the air out of me, or because of the fact I subconsciously sensed a presence of the male homosapien right behind me. When my slow-paced conscious mind finally connected with its cousin, my lightning-quick subconscious, I realised that the person who had cushioned my fall was none other than Yuuichi.

"Crap, are you okay?" I rolled out of his grasp and onto my knees, and noticed that he winced a little when he moved his left arm.

"I should be the one asking you that question," he replied calmly, and seemed to be making no further effort to get off the floor.

"I am pretty heavy," I responded, still a bit worried that I might have dislocated his shoulder upon impact.

"Considering how much you eat, you're quite light."

"I inherited my dad's metabolism rate."

"You're fine, he's anorexic."

"He certainly displays the symptoms," I thought about Otousan's eating habits, and then gave a wan smile. Yuuichi must have seen him earlier today when he was leaving school after the meeting with Itsuki sensei. "Are you getting off the floor? I can't imagine it being a good place to take a nap."

"It isn't," he gave a little smirk, "but the view of the sky from here is fantastic."

I tried glancing up, but I barely saw anything remotely fascinating about the vast blue atmosphere.

"I don't see anything," I squinted my eyes, but that too proved futile.

"Not from that angle you won't. Lie down."

I tentatively placed my back on the floor, and let my head rest against the tiles. Then I saw. Orange and pink swirled in the sky, like a pair of teenage lovers cavorting in the horizon without a care for the rest of the colours that they outshone. Their love for each other seemed to be so bold, so certain, that even when a white cloud or two obscured them from view, instead of cowering and hiding away, their shimmer outlined the clouds, illuminating the skyline, making them seem even more beautiful than before. I had never seen such a lovely beginning of a sunset before, not in Japan or even in America. _But I've never paid much attention to the sky before, _a thought suddenly struck me, _I've been spending too much time looking down, so much so I've never even considered that looking anywhere else might be worthwhile._

...

I had already lost track of time. The two lovers painted the sky while Yuuichi and I watched in compatible silence, admiring their efforts, but knowing that they would be separated when darkness enveloped the atmosphere. Just as the colours overtook the heavens and drenched them in a tsunami of orange and pink, I turned to Yuuichi, who seemed to be engrossed with the sight.

"Why are you still in school again?"

"I was helping Kaichou with some files," he responded without taking his eyes off the sky, "why were you standing on the tables, while doing some world-class contorting?"

I related my shock upon finding the classroom in a complete and utter state of calamity, and his alarm seemed genuine.

"I had no idea. If I hadn't left class early, I wouldn't have let this happen."

"It's my fault for egging her on in the first place. Although I know what I can do to stop her from trying to get me in trouble anymore."

"Pray tell."

"Wrap a giant red bow around you and deliver you to her doorstep, complete with an apology letter."

"You and your red ribbons better stay far away from me," he warned, "is there anything left that needs cleaning?"

I motioned to two other fans, and then attempted to stand, only to find my right ankle give way beneath me.

"I'll take care of the fans and your ankle as well," he dragged a chair out from a nearby table, and helped me onto it, before leaving the classroom to get another ruler, or even better, a bottle of oil.

As my eyes roamed around the classroom, I realised that I was sitting in Yuuichi's seat. My gaze flitted to the sky, and I smirked, knowing that Yuuichi must have chosen this specific desk just so he could watch the clouds go by when the boring lessons no longer held his ever-wandering attention. I dragged the chair a little closer to the table, trying to catch a glimpse of the origins of the orange and pink that coated the sky, but something decided to poke me in the stomach before I could do so. Glancing under the desk, I found the corner of his well-worn leather book peeping out innocently from underneath. I had rarely seen him without it, so it was a surprise to find it more than a metre away from its owner.

The book was probably the reason Yuuichi came back to class, and responsible for the fact that the only injury I sustained was a bruised ankle of sorts. It wasn't the best outcome, but it certainly better than death by gum and toilet paper. I proceeded to thank the black book by giving it a nod of acknowledgement. Its contents piqued my curiosity, but if curiosity was to blame for the death of a certain feline, it surely wouldn't be good for me to entertain it. I knew firsthand how much some people valued privacy, and I would much rather like to respect Yuuichi's, him having saved me from mortal peril on a grand total of two occasions. I set the book on the table just as its lanky owner returned to the classroom.

"You came back for this, didn't you?" I pointed to the book.

He blinked a little before registering my reference to the leather-bound tome.

"Yeah. Funny how I've never forgotten it before," he handed me a plastic bag full of ice, before his eyes widened and caring smile faded. "Shoot, you looked?"

"Yes. Your daily accounts of you stalking me are extremely interesting to read," I took a wild and utterly ridiculous stab at guessing what was written on the lined pages.

His face relaxed as he let a laugh escape, and I knew that my slipshod presumption had been way off the mark. He proceeded to clean the fans while elaborating a little more on the book, but not revealing anything about its contents.

"Every time I turn my back on that, Sakura tries to read it," he heaved a sigh of relief, "she must have been so riled up about creating a mess that she didn't realise I had left it behind. I'm really surprised you didn't take a look at all."

"Well, I was planning to sell it on eBay, so I wasn't about to risk damaging it," I cracked up while he turned to me with eyebrows raised higher than the state flag, before I clarified, "I didn't have the permission of its owner. My dad may be anorexic, but he taught me well regarding my manners. And before I forget them, thanks from catching me and bringing ice."

"You're welcome," he replied softly, "it's a shame my father didn't teach me anything, let alone manners."

"He's not...there for you?" I asked tentatively, sensing that this was an extremely sensitive topic, and the landmines might explode in my face if I did not tread with the highest amount of care.

"Never was," the sun seemed to be hauling the two reluctant colours down into the horizon, as the rebellious rays tried their best to escape its hold. "Come on, I'll bring you home."

With that, he hoisted me into his arms, and the sudden action stunned me, as I found his strong forearm support my back, while the other was behind my knees.

"I didn't know that you brought girls home by carrying them," I remarked as he started out the door.

"I don't. I just do it for one extremely clumsy girl who's continuously putting her life in jeopardy."

"I wonder who that is," I replied wryly.

"She eats a lot, and likes to pick fights with the strangest people," he smirked, "ring a bell?"

"Wow, both grotesque AND a little short on the marble count. That's one weird girl you're carrying around, mister."

"Absolutely," he grinned as we passed the hall.

Youdai's multi-purpose hall took up space on both the first and second level, and glass panels lined the corridor on the second story. If I had looked down into the hall, I would have seen one extremely shocked basketball captain staring right up at me.

...

"Yuuichi, wrong street."

"You were staying there last week. I used my phone to hack into the school database and it said so."

So he had been the one that had given kaichou extra work! I made a mental note to tell kaichou about it so she could increase his workload or the like. I wondered if Yuuichi knew about the second hacker, or maybe it was him using another piece of electronics to uncover information. The thoughts and questions swirled about in my cluttered mind, and I swam about in a choppy mental sea of confusion, too occupied to even comment on Yuuichi's statement.

"Would you like to tell me your new address? Or shall I hack the site again?" He threw me a life buoy and hauled me back into reality.

"Turn left at that corner."

The smell of ramen wafted from the nearby corner shop, and my stomach expressed its longing for food.

"You skipped lunch," it was a statement, not a question.

"Yep," I smiled, "I'm training my immature and impatient digestive organ in case I find myself without a source of nourishment one day."

Yuuichi shook his head and entered the store, as the customers present stared a little at the sight of a foreign female student in the arms of a schooling teenage male. He set me down at a table and promptly ordered three bowls of ramen.

"Yuuichi, it's been a while," the middle aged owner of the store greeted him with a beam as she set the bowls at the table, "who's this?"

"Shujin-san, meet Etsuko," Yuuichi gestured to me as I nodded and smiled, "she's my classmate."

"Ah, not girlfriend?" Shujin-san looked rather dejected, and I saw Yuuichi flinch a little, before she turned to me, "Yuuichi used to come often for lunch in middle school, but he was always alone."

"Middle school? That's a long time ago," I wondered aloud, "did you stay nearby?"

"I still do," Yuuichi confirmed.

"But he's grown up, and too busy nowadays to stop by," Shujin-san added, I've lost yet another regular customer to this incredibly strong competitor named time."

"He does put up an extremely good fight," I agreed.

"I like her," Shujin-san turned to Yuuichi, "the ramen's on the house today. And ask your friend who's coming to hurry up before it gets cold."

It took me a while to realise that she was referring to the extra bowl of ramen, but Yuuichi had caught on faster than I had.

"Etsuko's fond of ramen," he smiled warmly, "arigatou, Shujin-san."

"She's got wit and an appetite," Shujin-san beamed in return, "I like her even more."

...

"Shujin-san has never given away three free bowls of ramen before," Yuuichi remarked as we walked out of the store, or more specifically, he walked out with me on his back. Shujin-san had been kind enough to bandage my ankle as well, so I wouldn't have to trouble myself treating it later.

"History has been made today!" I echoed with a healthy dose of enthusiasm, and I heard him chuckle.

Glancing around the busy walkway that was bathed in pale yellow streetlamp light, I noticed that there were many ramen shops on the street and most seemed to have been around just as long, some even longer than Shujin-san's store.

"What made you frequent Shujin-san's store out of all the other shops?"

"I was twelve, angsty, and thought the world owed me something when I ran away from home. I remember I was so mad, I didn't even bring money or clothes," I could sense hurt expertly masked in his voice as his head lowered, "to cut the long story short, Shujin-san gave me a place to stay and food to eat till I had the guts to return home. I've never even considered becoming a patron of any other store."

I wanted to find out what had made this normally calm and distant Yuuichi so angry that he'd leave home because of it, but I decided to let it slide, since he'd done the same when I had mentioned Hikaru by accident. Instead, I placed my head on his back, and wrapped my arms a little tighter around his shoulders. I felt Yuuichi stiffen slightly, but he relaxed after a second.

"Amidst all the pain, it's good to know that there are others that care," I whispered into his back, "thanks for taking care of me today."

"You're welcome," I heard him give a soft sigh as he stopped walking, "and I think I've got to thank you too."

"For?"

"Listening."

...

_Oh the fluff. XD hope you guys liked it! Thanks for reading and reviewing! XD_


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm sorry if the last chapter wasn't my usual standard, cause I reread it and thought I could have done much better. So I'll make sure the rest of the chapters are satisfactory from now on! Thanks for reading once again!_

_I don't own skip beat. But thanks to fanfiction, I am not only able to torture Ren and Kyoko - I can do the same to their imaginary kids too! XD_

**Chapter 9!**

Yuuichi walked on in silence as I gave monosyllable directions for him to follow. The ramen shop had been just a block or two away from my apartment, and in no time he was already walking past the block, which had a high fence surrounding the compound inside, separating it from the well-lit pavement. Otousan had chosen this apartment due to its relatively high security, and its cost was notably higher than other flats in the area. It crossed my mind that Yuuichi might have a sneaking suspicion of who I was, if I could afford to live alone in an apartment here, but lying to him or asking him to take me somewhere else didn't sit well with my burdened heart and cluttered mind. He could probably hack the school's database and bust my cover again if he wanted to, so I just relented and recited silent apologies to my paranoid parents, both of whom would be enraged if they found out I had revealed my place of residence to someone I barely knew; of the opposite gender, no less.

"We're here," I stated, and started to climb off his back, as he helped me onto the sidewalk.

"You...live here?" I sensed incredulity in his wary voice, and I wondered if he was shocked by the fact I was living in quite a luxurious compound.

Bracing myself for tough questions, I swiftly made my way to electronic gate, trying to fish out my key card from my school bag to gain access into the estate before Yuuichi could ask anything else. The card seemed to elude me, and I clawed desperately in the obscure crevices of my knapsack. The longer I tried to locate the sneaky card, the more flustered I became, and I stopped short of ripping my bag to shreds in search of it. All the while, I couldn't help but wonder why Yuuichi hadn't asked about how I could afford to live here, or why I had suddenly changed my abode even though I'd been in Japan for only a fortnight.

"Ah, you can go back first, I'll find my card," I rambled a little, trying my best to convince him I'd be fine so he would leave, and hopefully take away all the awkwardness I was feeling along with him. "It's already eight; you should be getting home too."

I hadn't taken my eyes off my chocolate brown backpack, still intent on finding the card. My fingers trailed along the bottom on the bag, like a fishing trawler trying to scrape crustaceans off the seabed, in the hope of finding a rare oyster with a priceless pearl.

"You're...right...I should be going home now."

" Mmhmm," I sounded in agreement, thankful that he wasn't about to ask any tough questions that would put me on the spot.

At this moment my right hand seemed to have found something rather squarish and promising, and my fingers closed around a piece of rectangular plastic as I let out a sigh of relief. I looked up towards the gate, about to tap the oblong card on the reader, when I realised that the gate was already open.

With Yuuichi standing on the other side of the gate, one hand holding it ajar for me, and the other holding a card identical to mine, as he tapped it lightly against his chin.

"So, you coming?"

...

_Shoot, I didn't intend for this to be so short. Actually it should have gone to the end of the last chapter, so I'm real sorry if I got your hopes up. I'll promise to update this asap! =) My apologies! But anyhow, review if you liked it! thanks!_


	10. Chapter 10

_Haha. I bet I totally threw you guys in the loop there! XD Even I didn't expect them to stay in the same condominium, but my fingers have a mind of their own, and I actually like where the story's going. So thanks once again for reading, reviewing and the like!_

**_*IMPORTANT! : WHEN YOU SEE WORDS IN THESE BRACKETS { }, IT MEANS THAT THEY WERE STRIKED OFF. _**_I dunno what's wrong with fanfiction, they don't allow the strike off function in stories or something. It makes a huge difference to the meaning of the story below. So yeah. I'm sorry! And happy reading!_

**Chapter 10!**

The glossy screen of my three month old laptop emitted a dim blue glow, which illuminated my face in a ghostly manner. I sat comfortably under my covers with my hoard of fully pillows propped behind my back, as I ran my fingertips through my blond locks, slightly damp from the recent shower I had emerged from. And it had been one long, long shower.

I remembered the very first bout of awkward silence Yuuichi and I had shared in the elevator. He had probably seen my hand quiver from the aftermath of the initial shock I suffered, pressing the button that would instruct the lift to take me to the sixteenth floor of the apartment block. I barely registered the slender finger that pushed the button to the seventeenth floor, the highest one in the block. My eyebrows had furrowed in confusion, and I wanted to ask him something, anything, but I wasn't sure where to begin. Before I knew it the lift had opened on my floor, and Yuuichi gave me a gentle push into the corridor, and whispered something along the lines of 'see you tomorrow, take care' or the like. But just as with everything else, I wasn't sure what REALLY had happened. I had stumbled to my apartment as if I was inebriated, and somehow managed to enter the flat, and subsequently the shower.

Yuuichi's residence in this very block flung the floodgates of my inquisitive mind right open, and my head throbbed from the flash flood of questions that poured into my mind. What was he doing here? Why hadn't I seen him even come here the entire week? How could he afford to live here? Was anyone else living with him? If he had been staying here since middle school, he must have been loaded at the time to be able to move in when the apartment was just built! Did anyone at school know he was this rich? Had he secretly murdered an unsuspecting apartment owner and stolen the pitiful man's identity for all these years? Was he the elusive Duracell bunny in a non-fuzzy, un-pink disguise? The possibilities were endless.

I was caught up in the gridlock of information in my brain, feeling exactly like it was rush hour, but really, nothing was moving. My thoughts slammed repeatedly into concrete walls at dead ends in the never ending maze that I was completely and utterly lost in. It was so confounding that I barely realised the instant message that popped up on the screen, its azure borders quivering in an almost futile attempt to catch my attention.

"Etsu! I need to thank you!"

I took a quick glance at the ID. Ah, Kichirou.

"Thank me? For?" I typed in my puzzled reply.

"The fishing pole scene!"

I hadn't thought about the fishing pole scene in years. Kaitou and Kichirou had been eleven and nine respectively, and they were on holiday, visiting their long lost sister in the United States. They were taking a break from filming another drama where they were acting alongside each other as onscreen brothers, but they had been having difficulty acting out one particular scene – one where the brothers were fishing, and were amazed when they caught a trout of epic proportions. Kichirou was supposed to hold the fishing rod in astonishment, while Kaitou had to touch the fish tentatively. However, the director was insistent on making the scene seem as believable as possible, and the enormous fish they used in the filming sequence was real, and unfortunately possessed as much of an attitude that a fish could possibly have. It had proven too much for my brothers, and it never stayed still long enough for the scene to be filmed completely, tugging mercilessly on the thread of nylon that separated it from freedom.

"_Etsu, I'm not strong enough to hold it," the nine-year old Kichirou whined._

"_And I got slapped by the fish!" Kaitou sighed in resignation._

"_Kai Onii-san...why don't they just put that black thing on the string?"_

"_Black thing? What black thing, Etsu?"_

"_Um...the can-mer-rah," I sounded slowly, "the...camelrah?"_

_I remembered them bursting into peals of laughter, rolling around in the soft green lawn behind Oji-san's bungalow house. It was strange, because nothing seemed to strike me as funny at the time._

"_The things that films our scenes? The camera?" Kaitou was first to recover from his fit of giggles._

"_Hai, Onii-san," I continued seriously, "put it on the string, the string that Kichi onii-san holds. Then you two can look at it...and pretend it's the fish!" _

I recalled myself gesturing, and doing my best imitation of what I thought my brothers should do. Kaitou seemed to understand where I was getting at, and Kichirou did the same after he had finished crying tears from laughing too hard. After a while, they seemed a little enlightened, and when I saw the drama on air the next month, it felt just like the audience was looking at the adorable faces of the famed Tsuruga brothers through the eyes of a certain indignant trout.

...

"Etsu, you there?"

"Yeah, it looks really good," I commented on the short clip Kichirou had sent me, straight from the director's cut of the latest movie he was starring in.

Taking the liberty to watch the video once more, I was enthralled as Kichirou gently planted a chaste kiss on his co-star's cheek as the borders of the screen were lined by red gossamer paper. The scene had been shot from a camera that had been strategically placed inside the lantern that both actors were holding on to, and it captured the emotions they portrayed beautifully.

"I suggested it, and it turned out fantastic," he enthused, "props go to you, Etsu."

"When's it being released?"

"We wrap up filming next week, and I'll go on tours and promotions for a month or so."

"Congratulations, Nagareboshi," I made reference to the nickname Kaitou and I had given him all those years ago, where he was more like a shooting star than a lucky star, which was what his name meant, "make sure I get to see it with ALL the bloopers!"

"No probs. Oh, I heard our parents took your school by storm today."

"The school nurse has probably never seen such a serious, widespread pandemic of nosebleeds before."

"I went home today and got caught off guard," I winced as I read this, not wanting to imagine what Kichirou could have witnessed. "But I've got to confess, Okasan looks smoking hot in that power suit."

"Kichirou," I warned, "should I save this conversation and show it to Otousan?"

"Ah, he knows I'm a playboy, so it won't be anything serious."

"Gosh, Onii-san, is there any woman you wouldn't hit on?"

"You." His reply was instantaneous. "Okasan's barely a B, but yours is flatter than a plateau!"

"My eye just twitched. I expect you to have the sense to know how much trouble you'll be in the next time we cross paths."

"But I still love you all the same! BYE!" He hastily logged off.

I glared at the computer with an interesting mix of contempt and amusement, and then closed it slowly, before proceeding to bury myself in a mountain of books as I burned the midnight oil. Kichirou had been rather helpful, as he had kept my mind off other things, doing enough to distract it from a certain nagging issue. Studying seemed to be a rather effective way to avert my attention and brain cells from doing something completely unnecessary; keeping them occupied for a while.

I was glad my thoughts regarding my inadequacies weren't hounding me as much as they had been this afternoon, but now I had a new problem on my hands. If I even paused my frantic studying for a while, my brain would begin formulating irritating questions that plagued me without avail. I had never been this intrigued about anything in my whole sixteen years of existence, not even when I wondered about how my family went about their jobs or schedules. Not even about my past, or even about how Okasan and Otousan met. None of those situations piqued my curiosity to such an extent that I feared my mind wasn't mine to control any longer. Lucidity was a precious commodity that I sought after, and the condition I was in seemed entirely ridiculous to me, so much so that I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry in confusion, but there was one thing I was sure of.

I couldn't stop thinking about Yuuichi.

...

My sheets were tousled and splayed about the bed as I squirmed under the covers, unable to stop the trains of thought in my mind from careening dangerously near the edge of mental cliffs. I tossed and turned. The digital clock reminded me that 3am was no time for a student like me to still be awake. I tossed and turned some more.

A good fifteen minutes passed before I dragged my weary body off the mattress, and my feet slipped into warm slippers that I had left beside the bed. They shuffled against the marble flooring, and my feet took me to an unpacked cardboard box in the hallway that had been an innocent victim of my laziness and reluctance to put it away. I lifted the box and brought it to my room, setting it down soundlessly before flicking the switch for the lights on.

It wasn't long till I found what I was looking for. The plain-looking converse shoebox seemed rather old and possibly even unsightly, but it held all my most treasured possessions. I scanned each piece of paper desperately, as if hoping I'd be able to unearth something in the letters that might be of use. Unfortunately, the amazing advice that had been given to me in the form of the written word was only applicable to my circumstances in the past, and provided no answer to my current infection of curiosity. I sighed in disappointment and settled for the comfort and amusement the letters brought me instead. They were beginning to turn a pale yellow, and I sincerely hoped that the ink used would not fade too much.

I was nine when my elementary school teacher handed me the first letter. I couldn't remember her name, and her face seemed blurry in my memory banks, but I knew she had a warm smile which she never hesitated to show.

"_Etsuko, I've noticed you've always seemed sad, so I got a special fairy to write you a letter."_

"_Sensei, fairies don't exist," I shook my head, disappointed with my teacher for not realising that most children would have lost their belief in mythical beings at the age of eight, although Okasan still insisted they were real for some very strange reason._

"_Ah, but he really is a fairy," she handed me the letter and tousled my hair, "and I encourage you to reply it."_

"_He?"_

"_Ah, some fairies are male too. How do baby fairies come about if there aren't male fairies around?"_

"_Sensei, I can't believe you're an adult – fairies don't exist."_

"_Give your reply to me, and I'll call UPS to deliver it," she winked._

"_UPS?" I asked incredulously, "they deliver? Without thinking you're insane?"_

"_Unicorn Parcel Services," she stated without showing any sign of laughter. "Oh, and forgive him if his handwriting isn't as neat as it should be. Fairies these days don't practice their penmanship as much as they should."_

I shook my head a little, and the scene stopped replaying in my head. My hand reached for the letter at the bottom of the stack, and I gingerly pulled out the precious first letter that I had received from the "fairy".

_Dear Etsu,_

_(Is it okay if I call you Etsu? My {__mom}_ _human guardian asked me to call you that.)_

_Fairies know everything, and I know you've been real sad all the time. _

_Um..._

_Don't be sad!_

_Please?_

_Yours truly,  
A fairy. _

It wasn't long, and it seemed ridiculous when I read it at the time. I was intelligent enough at ten to notice that he was probably sensei's son, thanks to his failure to use liquid paper or correction tape to remove all traces of his error. Grinning at the thought, I remembered writing back to him the very next morning, telling him the same thing that had I told sensei; that fairies didn't exist.

_Dear Fairy,_

_You don't exist._

_Regards,  
Etsu _

_(P.S. Yes, you can call me Etsu.)_

His reply was prompt, and I received a letter the following day.

_Dear Etsu,_

_You're right, I'm not a fairy._

_I'm a pokemon. _

_Yours truly,  
A pokemon._

_(P.S. Are you still sad?)_

I heard myself let out a rare giggle, almost identical to how I laughed the first time I read that letter, and I ran my fingers through my blond hair yet again. Reading the letters had to be therapeutic.

_Dear Pokemon,_

_Which pokemon are you?_

_Regards,  
Etsu_

_(P.S. Not really. You made me laugh.)_

I rummaged through the shoebox and found letter number three.

_Dear Etsu,_

_I'm not telling! HAH!_

_Yours truly,  
____{Squirtle}_  
___{Charmander}_  
Jigglypuff.

_(P.S. I'm glad. I like your laugh. Laugh more okay?)_

It was around this time I asked sensei how he would know my laugh. Did fairies/pokemon have databases full of laughs belonging to different people? But sensei just smiled that warm smile of hers.

_Dear Jigglypuff,_

_Why won't you tell me which pokemon you are? I'll be sad if you don't!_

_Regards,  
Etsu_

_(P.S. How'd you know what my laugh sounds like? And why Jigglypuff?)_

The fourth letter from him peeked out from among the other letters.

_Dear {__Etsu}__ Pikachu,_

_You've got blond hair._

_So that name's perfect for you._

_Yours truly,  
Jigglypuff._

_(P.S. I know everything, remember? And you'll know why - next time.)_

I smiled to myself as I returned the letters to the box, arranging them carefully and placing the whole shoebox in a cabinet, one which I could lock if I wanted to. I did so, and placed the key on my table, before returning to bed with a dreamy smile on my face, and falling soundly asleep.

...

_YEAH! Okay that's chapter ten! I hoped it was fun to read! Thanks for doing so, and please review so I know how I'm doing! XD_


	11. Chapter 11

_Woah, chapter 11! I'm so glad I've come thus far, and it's all thanks to...drumrolllll...YOU! XD Haha. A bout of happiness just hit me like a truck doing a hundred on the freeway. Haha. I'm glad to be roadkill, if joy is responsible for squashing me flat like a pancake on the highway of ecstasy. _

_Every time I post a chapter, I always want to make it different from everything I've seen before, and have characters do something no other two-dimensional, fictional personas have ever attempted in the history of fanfiction. I really want you guys to review, tell me what you want to see happen, and I'll do my best to put things together. If you've got a good suggestion, share it! XD My mom always taught me to share!_

_I own everything that I own, and nothing that I don't. XD_

**Chapter 11!**

A couple of things happened when I returned to school, the bags under my eyes hinting at the lack of sleep I had the night before. It was rather eventful for a Tuesday, and my weary mind had a hard time keeping track of it all. The first abnormality that took place was how intently people were studying me. It felt like I was being watched by a rainbow of sorts, as my schoolmates' eyes; sky blue, sea green, misty grey, fiery amber; all settled on me, and the emotions each gaze held were as varied as the colours I saw. As I entered my classroom, I heard the whispers. Ah, scrap the whispers; the comments and insults were being hurled right at me as I walked in.

"I heard Yuuichi carried her home yesterday!"

"That's not possible!"

"That vixen! The nerve of her to steal from Sakura!"

"She doesn't deserve Yuuichi, neither should she have such stunning parents. Gosh. Why do the plain ones get all the good things?"

It was right about then that I snapped. The affronts ticked me off to the point of no return, and I decided to say my piece. I realised that when regrets occur when things go unsaid, and I certainly did not want to regret dealing with any more aspersion than I should.

"ENOUGH!" I hollered, and felt my body tremble with fury, though my voice was only slightly strained as I fought to keep my cool. "If you have something to say, say it to my face. Yes, Yuuichi carried me home yesterday. It's possible, because he's relatively strong, and I do not weigh as much as the average elephant. No, I did not steal him from Sakura, because he has not acknowledged that he is her property. Yes I am plain, yes I don't deserve Yuuichi, and about my parents, I had no say in that."

Silence wrapped around the class, and all the shell-shocked students gaped at my blatant audacity. My luck was down at that point in time though, and I wondered if I would regret saying something as bold as that while I was greatly outnumbered by other students, and circumstantial evidence of Yuuichi carrying me home was not on my side. One of Sakura's close companions picked up on my sudden stroke of hesitation, and decided to shred the flimsy shield I had attempted to construct.

"We were talking about you. Not to you. You didn't have to say anything. You shouldn't have, because, really, none of us care what you think."

"Etsu-chan, she's right, you know?" Heads turned to see Sakura saunter through the doorway, halting only an inch away from my desk. "I don't care very much for your feelings. But it's good that you still have your wits. That makes it so much more exciting for me to toy with you."

Her nails were poised above my shoulder, and I grimaced in the thought that they would sink into my flesh yet again. This time, however, they hovered over my left cheek, ready to land a stinging smack on the expanse of my pale skin. I wondered what I had done in my previous lifetimes that warranted such outright injustice. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I attempted to run, but the table behind me made any chance of escape impossible. My eyes squeezed shut as I saw her arm retract a little, then garner speed to strike me hard.

But the burning sensation of a slap never came.

"Akane Sakura, don't you dare."

I peeked out from my eyelids, relaxing the muscles that made them close so tightly a second ago. There was a tanned wrist in front of my face, which led to a large hand that was grasping firmly onto Sakura's slim arm, rendering her incapable of any further movement. My eyes trailed up that tanned arm to the body that it belonged to, and its irate owner had placed himself in front of me, effectively shielding me from physical attacks, if any. His mouth was nearly invisible, having formed a grim line across his angry face. I wasn't accustomed to seeing such a furious look on Hikaru, and I certainly didn't want to bear witness to it any longer.

"Your father may be the one donating new supplies for the basketball team, but that doesn't give you the authority to slap anyone," Hikaru continued in a terse voice, "remember; I still have evidence against you. Don't make me use it. Etsuko, let's go."

His left hand latched onto mine and he hauled me out of the classroom, taking gigantic strides like a furious, provoked bear. I wanted to tell him to stop, because it hurt; especially my ankle from the previous day's events; but I had never even caught a glimpse of Hikaru being this angry before, and I wasn't about to add fuel to the fire. He finally stopped when we reached a corridor of the school that only lead to after-school clubs, right next to the stairs that lead to the roof, so the area was deserted. I could predict what was about to come next. Hikaru had always taken my parent's stance on concealing my identity, and had chided me whenever I had near slips back in America.

"Etsuko, what the hell happened yesterday?" His voice was terse and demanded a response from me. "Did Yuuichi really carry you home?"

"Yes, he did, but it's because -"

"So you actually admit it!" His arms folded across his broad chest in contempt. "I saw it with my own two eyes yesterday; you were clinging on to him like he was your only lifeline."

"Hikaru, could you please calm down so I can explain -"

"You don't need to explain anything. I went to your house yesterday to ask you what had happened, only to discover that you had moved a week ago without telling me a thing. And then," his voice suddenly seemed a tad louder than before, "I come to school today and hear from everybody else that YUUICHI brought you home! IN HIS ARMS!"

I could only bite my lip in response, because it was true that I hadn't told Hikaru about my move to the condominium.

"You're living alone now, but you seem to be awfully comfortable letting a guy with raging hormones into your apartment! You barely know him!" Hikaru glared at me, and then seethed. "I don't want you to be around him, or talk to him anymore."

"Hikaru, I know you're concerned for me, but Yuuichi hasn't done a thing –"

"What makes you think he won't? Or, even worse, he could piece the puzzle together and realise who you are!"

"I don't see why that's such a cause for concern!" My previous encounters with Yuuichi were more than enough to assure me that he could keep a secret.

"Oh? So now you love him so much you actually WANT to tell him who you are? THAT YOUR MOM AND DAD ARE MOGAMI KYOKO AND TSURUGA REN?"

His voice echoed in the empty hallway as I stared at him wide-eyed. Hikaru had never been like this before. I didn't know the person standing in front of me.

"Hikaru, what the hell's gotten into you?"

"I don't trust Yuuichi!"

"Well, I do," I paused as Hikaru turned to me with pure shock in his eyes. "And MY identity is MY business, so whether I do tell him is none of YOURS!"

"IF NOT FOR HIM, YOU WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS WITH SAKURA!"

"IF NOT FOR HIM, WE WOULD BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION IN THE HOSPITAL!"

I snapped for the second time that day. None of this was Yuuichi's fault, and Hikaru had no right to blame him for anything that had occurred between me and Sakura. In fact, I was grateful to Yuuichi for helping me countless times on so many different occasions. I couldn't understand why Hikaru was so fuming mad, but it would only be much later on that I would find out why. My retort made him effectively shut up as I tried to explain how I had lost my balance and showed him my ankle, but Hikaru didn't stop looking dazed and distracted. His gaze clouded over and he detached himself from whatever I said, and just numbly walked off when I mentioned how Yuuichi carried me out of school. Was Hikaru sick today? Had he perhaps lost a match yesterday? I shrugged and decided to roam the hallways before heading back to class.

...

The class was eerily quiet when I stepped back into it, even though I had prepared myself to ignore the taunts that I imagined would come. Nobody said anything as I made my way to my desk, and I sat down a little amazed at the whole scene. I saw Sakura turn to glare at me, her smooth face marred by a malicious expression, but some frightening aura had engulfed the room like a tidal wave, making Sakura flinch and avert her eyes. Even I felt the chill, and shivered in terror. Glancing up, I realised that Yuuichi had shot an extremely menacing look her way, his blue eyes frozen over like a lake in some insanely harsh winter. Realising that I was looking at him, Yuuichi turned his gaze on me, and the coldness in his eyes melted almost instantly and he managed a slight grin before turning back to look out the window. I was still rather perplexed as Itsuki-sensei walked in and began teaching us mathematics, and the whole day seemed to be getting increasingly confounding.

School had almost ended when a senior brought a note to class.

"Sensei, sorry for the interruption, but Kaichou would like to speak to Etsuko in the student council room. It's rather urgent."

My teacher nodded her approval and I rose from my desk, making my way to see Kaichou. I wondered what she could be calling me for, but I assumed that it would be some administrative issues that I still had to settle since I came into Youdai. My fingers twisted the metallic door knob clockwise, and I pushed the door open, only to find Kaichou behind her desk with her arms crossed, and a very grumpy Hikaru seated in front of her.

"You wanted to see me, Kaichou?"

"Yes," she nodded her head slowly, "Etsu, lock the door."

I did as I was told, still unsure about what was going on.

"I was patrolling the hallways this morning before school started," she began, and motioned for me to sit down. "And I need to talk to you both about something I heard when I made my rounds outside the after-school clubs."

...

_JENG JENG JENG! XD_

_Yay the plot is starting to unfold! Lol i'm sorry it took so long. I think my next post will be even later, seeing as how my national exams start in one week, but I promise you guys it shouldn't take longer than a month. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! *Flings digital cookies to everyone*_


	12. Chapter 12

_Honestly, I was too excited to wait a month to write my next chapter. _

**Chapter 12!**

"Kaichou, you heard everything?" I asked tentatively.

"Pretty much. I'm actually quite amazed you managed to evade the press all these years. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul, and I'll do my best to protect you," Kaichou reassured me, and then shot Hikaru a look that would make a plant shrivel up and wither of sheer humiliation. "There will be no more yelling in the hallways. You're lucky I was the only one around this morning. As a senior, I expect you to have more common sense."

Hikaru gave a remorseful sigh and turned away from Kaichou's piercing green eyes, before slowly rising from the wooden chair in front of her desk. I glanced at Kaichou, gave her an appreciative nod, and began to leave as well.

"Hikaru, before I forget," Kaichou started, "Etsuko's identity is her business, and I trust Yuuichi as well."

Hikaru paused wordlessly, and then continued out the door. As I followed after him, I closed the student council door with as minimal noise as I could manage. I wasn't sure if my ears were playing tricks on me, but right before the door was fully shut, I thought I heard Kaichou mumble something along the lines of "almost as much as I trust you".

...

Hikaru stopped before ascending the flight of stairs that lead to his classroom. He turned to face me, his light brown fringe covering part of his downcast eyes, as he glanced up at me rather sheepishly.

"I'm sorry Etsu, I didn't mean to get angry, and really, I should have listened to you."

"I don't blame you. Anyone would have misunderstood if they saw me yesterday. Which is also why I found it hard to stand up against Sakura this morning."

Hikaru shook his head, and then curled his finger, beckoning me to come nearer. I wondered what he was up to, but walked closer to him anyway. When I was less than an arm's length away, he stunned me as he pulled me into a tight hug.

"Remember when I was in America for middle school, and sometimes you'd tell me you felt inadequate? I'd hug you like this, because it'd-"

"Squeeze all the bad thoughts out," I finished with a wan smile, as my arms hung limply by my sides.

Hikaru held me like that for another second or two, and then his grip loosened. The hug had been comforting, warm, and above all, familiar. The Hikaru I knew was back.

"About this morning," he began with a mischievous grin, "don't let it happen again. Next time, I expect you to become the demonic offspring of Natsu and Mio, and scare the living daylights out of every last one of them."

I watched Hikaru climb the stairs with a spring in his steps, and he reminded me of a very happy Tigger bouncing on his now invisible, orange tail. I started walking back to my own class, remembering how Hikaru had been like that since he came to America for elementary and middle school. His mother wanted a hiatus from acting, and his parents decided that Hikaru would do well in the future with a good grasp of English. He finished the second half of elementary school in America, and then carried on with middle school there. He would visit me sometimes, but he returned to Japan when I was barely thirteen, so the memories were a little fuzzy. If I recalled right, his mother had taught drama in my elementary school too. Her impeccable ability to memorise nearly any script within ten seconds still amazes me.

The bell signalled the end of the school day as I strolled back into class with my head held high. The teacher had left, and most of my classmates were packing their bags and heading home. Out of the corner of my dark eyes, I spotted Sakura making her way towards me, like a hungry lion stalking towards her prey, but I just smirked as the overconfident cat approached.

"Etsuko, don't think that just because-"

"Oh yes, I'll do my cleaning duties today. I hear Kaichou is giving me extra credits for doing such a good job with it. Sakura-chan, thanks so much for putting me in charge. Maybe if you did your share of duties, you'd get extra credits too."

I walked right past her stunned form, then stopped before saying something I couldn't resist adding.

"Oh, and don't chew gum," I glanced over my shoulder, "it makes you fat."

I good number of my classmates stifled their laughter, and shuffled out of the class with unmistakable grins. I controlled the urge to chuckle at her dumbstruck expression, then grabbed my knapsack and started out the door, heading to the canteen to grab lunch first.

"Bye Sakura-chan! Ja ne!" I called cheerily and waved.

...

I felt refreshed after taking a nap in the afternoon, before watching the newest episode of the drama serial Otousan was acting in, as a plain, middle-aged bachelor who had undergone an extreme makeover, and had difficulty adjusting to his new life of 'attractiveness'. It was amusing to see Otousan so flustered at all the attention he was receiving from the women, seeing that he had been dealing with the fawning for a good three decades. The producers had even brought Okasan in for a cameo, as a skimpily-clad bar dancer vying for his attention, but Otousan's expression during that scene had been a rare slip in his career; rather than seeming embarrassed, he wore a pained expression on his face. Kaitou, Kichirou and I had laughed our heads off, for we knew the immense internal struggle he must have gone through while sitting there during the entire fifteen minute take.

I turned off the flat screen television, and then lifted the empty bowl that was once overflowing with two packets of noodles that I had cooked for dinner. After washing the dishes, I made my way to the bedroom and noticed the keys I had placed on my desk – the ones that kept my precious shoebox locked safely away in the drawer. I had completed all my schoolwork during class today, having been too troubled to fall asleep during any of the lessons. The shock my teachers must have gotten was probably comparable to what I had experienced when someone told me Kaitou was gay. I almost believed it though. His record was suspiciously spotless.

As I slid the key into its matching lock, it opened smoothly and I retrieved my treasured cardboard box. The letters were kept in chronological order, from the first one I had received when I was nine, till the last one that came during my first year of middle school, complete with a Japanese stamp on its envelope. Filtering through the dozens of letters he had sent over a span of four years, a thought suddenly struck me.

Didn't Hikaru return to Japan when I started middle school?

...

I spent the entire night reading the letters. It seemed as if I told Jigglypuff everything; from my identity to my insecurities. It seemed rather ridiculous now as I realised how those letters would be undeniable proof that I existed, when the very thing I was supposed to do was conceal my identity. But Jigglypuff was my secret, and I was absolutely sure I told no one about him, not even Hikaru.

Jigglypuff gave good advice too. I remembered when I was twelve, I told him about how I couldn't compare with my family in terms of looks.

_Dear Pikachu,_

_Seriously? Looks? Haven't I told you that looks are overrated? _

_Here's an analogy (some big word that I learnt the other day. Cool huh.) :_

_I think people are like pokemon, and life's our trainer. We all have our shells that we hide inside – our pokeballs – and we only come out and show our true potential during battles. Some pokemon live in Great Balls, Fast Balls, and Safari Balls; but in the end, it really boils down to how that pokemon fares in battle. It doesn't matter how beautiful the pokeball seems on the outside. It's the pokemon inside, and its abilities, that count. _

_So stop fretting about looks._

_Yours truly,  
Jigglypuff._

_[P.S. I like you just the way you are, fuzzy and yellow. =)]_

I sighed and put the letter aside, wondering how amazing it was that someone who was young enough to enjoy pokemon was mature enough to build an entire analogy around it. I glanced at the clock and found that it was nearly midnight, but the nap I had taken in the afternoon made me feel restless. I paced around my apartment in deep thought. Was Hikaru Jigglypuff? It seemed likely, given that the timing fit. The guy knew how I laughed, what I looked like. He had been around for barely a month before the first letter came, and the letters stopped coming almost a week after he left. It seemed a little suspicious to be just a mere coincidence.

In addition, none of my secrets had been leaked out. Anyone else would have probably sold the information to nosy reporters all over the globe for a tidy profit. Hikaru had been extremely close to me before he left, so it was extremely probable. Come to think of it, even his mother had been a teacher in my elementary school!

But somehow, somewhere inside my heart, I didn't want Hikaru to be Jigglypuff.

And I didn't know why.

...

I stared up at the night sky, admiring the numerous stars that shone brightly against the dark canvas, and wondering if their light could illuminate my cloudy mind. After a good hour of pacing in my apartment, I decided to make my way to the rooftop, and I when I arrived I couldn't be more content at my decision. It felt peaceful to be there.

I had gone through the last few letters before I headed for the roof. Something about the last letter made me believe Hikaru couldn't have been him. My breath mingled with the autumn breeze and I leaned against the cool metal railing.

"Jigglypuff," I murmured softly, "where are you?"

It was a rhetorical question, but to my astonishment, I got an answer. Well, more like a response, but it was still shocking to hear a soothing, melodious voice behind me at one in the morning on the rooftop of my apartment.

"I have no idea," it began, "but this sounds interesting. Who's Jigglypuff?"

...

"Yuuichi, for my sanity, could you please give me a warning whenever you're around?"

I had buried my face in my palms, which had broken out into cold sweat from the shock. We were both sitting on the cement, with our backs against the railing I had been leaning on a short while ago.

"It's not my fault," the corner of his mouth lifted, "you were so engrossed in your thoughts that you didn't even realise I had been standing right behind you for the past five minutes."

"You'd think I'd expect someone to be behind me at this hour?" I asked incredulously.

"More like something. Something pink and round with a microphone, and a very bad hairstylist."

He started laughing again, just like he did when I jumped about five miles up into the stratosphere after he had caught me unawares. I must say I did not enjoy that free trip to space and back.

"Ah shush."

"So, who's Jigglypuff?"

"A pokemon. Ever watched pokemon? It's an amazing anime!"

"You're a lousy liar, Etsuko."

He looked up at the stars, and was didn't ask any further about why I had been longing to know the whereabouts of a fluffy, fictitious two-dimensional character. Again, I wondered what in the world he was doing on the roof at 1am. Taking a good look at his clothes under the moonlight, I noticed he was wearing a slightly rumpled white shirt, sleeves folded up to his elbow, coupled with a thin black tie that had been loosened. His black jeans were slightly loose around his relatively thin, long legs, and his sneakers were the same ones that he had worn to school. He looked surprisingly attractive in the get up, and it was rare, because I only thought that about the most attractive actors. I wondered where he had been, and why he'd only come back in the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately for me, I blurted out my thoughts before my mind had processed them.

"You look good in that. Did you go clubbing or something?" The censorship board in my mind suddenly kicked into overdrive, and I realised I had complimented and insulted Yuuichi in the same sentence.

"Er," Yuuichi seemed slightly taken aback, and searched for words to formulate a reply. "I have a part time job as a soloist in a bar downtown."

It was then that I noted he had his guitar with him.

"You play that?" I pointed at the black case.

"Yeah, and I sing too."

"You must be talented, since you're actually being paid for it."

"I hope so. Don't tell anyone in school about this though, not even Kaichou knows I have this job," he paused a while, then turned to me with a glint in his lively blue eyes, then bit his lower lip a little as he stared right into my dark brown eyes. "So, you think I look good in this?"

I took another glance up and down and nodded my head, not really knowing why my cheeks felt a little warmer than before.

"That's...interesting," he averted his eyes from mine, almost as if he had expected me to take back my words and deny it. "Then I guess I have to return the complement."

"I'm wearing a hoodie and pyjama pants," I stated wearily.

"But it's a nice hoodie!"

I chuckled lightly, and thanked him softly for it. Placing my back against the steel bars behind me, I thought about what Hikaru had said earlier. What would Yuuichi think if he knew who I really was? Yuuichi wasn't like the rest; he said and did whatever he liked, and wasn't influenced by others. So he probably wouldn't be among those who would want to know me just because I was the offspring of two legendary actors. I wondered how he would react, and it was rather thought-provoking.

"Yuuichi, who do you think I am?" It was an incredibly cryptic question, and I wanted to explain further, but Yuuichi replied faster than I expected him to.

"A girl who eats a lot, sleeps a lot, and seduces drunken men at three in the morning," Yuuichi droned, his face void of expression.

"...thanks."

"Says whatever she wants to with amazing wit, and acts tough even though she's scared."

I found it hard to say anything, and I felt as if he hadn't finished his sentence.

"And tries too hard to hide the fact that she's the daughter of Mogami Kyoko and Tsuruga Ren."

...

_UWAH._

_Dang, it was so exciting to write this chapter. =)_

_Thanks for reading, and please review! Love you guys! XD_


	13. Chapter 13

_Haha. Why bother reading this? All it's gonna tell you is to have fun with the story below, and how much the author had fun writing it and her high hopes that you'll review. That's all. So you might as well just skip all this and go on with the gripping tale down there. =)_

**Chapter 13!**

I was absolutely flabbergasted, completely astonished and utterly bewildered. It felt as if some enchantment (most probably the "turn-your-life-topsy-turvy-in-a-fortnight-and-pray-you-don't-puke-in-the-process" spell) had come upon me, and the entire realm of supernatural forces decided to make my existence their newest plaything. I was pretty sure at that moment my eyes resembled those ping pong balls you used to play with during your childhood, which continuously bounced off to the wild unknown when you weren't paying due attention to its whereabouts.

"How...how..." I stammered incoherently, and then rambled on. "Oh my gosh did_ Kaichou_ tell you? I thought she said she wouldn't but she did say that she trusted you and all and..."

"Calm down, Etsu."

His blue eyes stared calmly back into my frantic ones, and I was too busy handling my paranoia at that moment to notice the internal struggle that was occurring within Yuuichi. Breathing out gently, he started explaining.

"It's not obvious, but you always avoid questions about your family, and also how you reacted this morning to their insults, especially about your parents. They looked like Ren and Kyoko Tsuruga yesterday when they were leaving school, but don't worry, it was mostly your address last week and the sudden change that really confirmed my suspicions. Not many people can afford to live here."

I felt a little numb after hearing all that. Nobody had noticed how I reacted to questions about my family before; if anyone ever had, they would have just dropped the topic and deemed it as sensitive. But here Yuuichi was, talking about my background as if nothing was wrong about having two major superstars for parents.

"So, Kaichou knows about it too? How'd that happen?"

"Ah, Hikaru and I were..." my voice trailed off as I tried to find the right words to complete my sentence, "talking this morning, and Kaichou accidentally overheard us. Since, you know, Hikaru's father is my Otousan's manager."

"Talking?" He raised an eyebrow inquisitively, and I rued the fact that Yuuichi was that observant.

"Yes. Talking." I answered affirmatively.

"Well, my lips are sealed, unless you pry them open with a crowbar," he gave a smirk. "Why'd you want to keep your identity a secret anyway? Any girl I know would be ecstatic to inform the rest of the world she's the offspring of Ren and Kyoko if given the chance."

"My parents wanted me to decide if I wanted the limelight, but honestly, I don't think they want me in it. I feel inferior. They're all talented actors, world-acclaimed models. Heck, even you can sing."

"You did act well the other night. You almost got away from that pervert, though I disagree with your methods."

"If I was anywhere close to their standards, I would have escaped."

"If you did, I wouldn't have met you."

"You...sound as if you actually think meeting me was a good thing."

"I do think so. No, in fact I know it is," his voice was oddly quiet.

We sat in silence for a while. I clenched my fist nervously, wondering what would happen from now on. If Yuuichi could figure it out, it was only a matter of time before someone else would do the same. Honestly, could I trust Yuuichi? He seemed as if he was all for protecting me, but you could never judge a book by its cover. No matter how attractive the cover looked. I realised that the pokeball analogy could fit right in here, and I remembered why I had ventured to the roof in the first place.

My thoughts drifted back to Jigglypuff. I wondered if he would be able to give advice that would get me out of this awkward situation I was in, and somehow make the whole world feel right again, like he was able to years ago. Then again, it was years ago, and I had matured from then, had I not? If Yuuichi knew about me, I guess I would just have to live with it. Curiously, that in itself didn't seem like such a bad thought.

"So," I started tentatively, "since you know so much about me, I should at least know something about you too."

"What about me do you want to know?" His face lit up. "Hmm, my size is -"

"No, Yuuichi, not that," my voice was terse, "do you turn into a pervert after midnight or something? You seem like a perfect gentleman during the day."

"Yeah. I was cursed from young. There, now you know something about me," he grinned impishly, but obviously knew I wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

"Ah. Sing a song! I want to hear!" I decided that I actually wanted to hear him belt out a tune or two.

"I've never seen you this enthusiastic unless there's food involved," he obliged by unzipping his guitar case, and then placing the acoustic instrument on his lap. "Any requests?"

"Something you're familiar with, I guess," I replied, then quickly added, "but I'll whack you if you sing anything overly suggestive."

Yuuichi seemed deep in thought, and then smiled a little when he mentally decided on the song. I inched closer, somehow a little impatient to hear how his voice sounded like in a melody. His long fingers strummed a gentle tune, and it sounded soothing to my ears.

"If the windows crack it's your fault," he stated, while still plucking the strings of his guitar rhythmically.

"Yuuichi! You're supposed to sing!" The disappointment in my voice was evident.

"Ever heard of intros?" His fingers expertly changed chords as he mocked me a little, with that annoying smirk of his plastered onto his face.

"Hurry up and sing! I –"

"_Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining  
Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying  
She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day._"

I was stunned for the second time that hour. People say the anticipation itself is more exciting, but actually hearing Yuuichi sing was nothing compared to how I felt when he started playing the guitar. Every word he sang was light and clear, and his voice was strong but not overbearing. He captured the emotions beautifully, and seemed to be in genuine amazement of the beauty of a certain girl. Man, was she lucky.

"_Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me  
And it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see  
But every time she asks me do I look ok, I say,_"

It was impossible for me to disrupt the atmosphere he had created; the unseen orchestra that now enveloped him as he became one with the instrument and the music. Yuuichi was completely caught up with the song, and his eyes were closed as he sang. All I could do was listen, but, then again, that was all I really wanted to do.

"_When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change  
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are  
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while  
Cause girl you're amazing, just the way you are._"

I noticed that his eyebrows would furrow whenever he tried to hit a higher note, and then relax after he sang it perfectly in tune, like he was pleased with himself for being able to belt it out nicely. Hugging my knees to my chest, I let my eyelids cover my dark brown irises, and enjoyed the rest of the song in contentment.

"..._Cause girl you're amazing, just the way you are," _Yuuichi ended simply, with no fancy chord progressions or maniacal strumming like many guitarists in our generation seemed to be infatuated with.

His eyes opened and he turned to me expectantly.

"Wow. You're...good," I breathed.

"That's all? Aww. I sang my heart out there and that's all I get?" Yuuichi lowered his head in disappointment.

"Hmm, then...can I marry your hands and vocal chords?"

This got an extremely loud laugh from him. I wondered if our neighbours were considering moving out at that moment, for Yuuichi's insane guffaws could make anyone think that the rooftop was haunted by some ravenous ghost.

"I doubt any priest would join you and three of my body parts in holy matrimony," he chuckled, and then suggested, "why not you just marry me instead? I believe I'm good husband material!"

"Nah. I just want your hands and vocal cords. Sakura can have the rest of you. I bet she'll be even happier, 'cause without your hands or the ability of speech, you wouldn't be able to fight her off, nor protest against whatever she might do to you."

I watched Yuuichi shudder at the thought, and then turn to me with mischief in his gaze.

"So, you want my hands, eh?" He leaned towards me and I instinctively jolted upright. "Well, then my hands are coming for ya!"

Before I knew it, his wide palms were at my sides, his fingers jabbing furiously in an extremely successful attempt to tickle me. I writhed against the grey slab tiles, trying to evade him, and failing miserably.

"Haha! Yuu-haha-ichi...st-op...haha...it! Stop!"

"What's up? Your fiancés just want to get to know you a little better," he said blandly, clearly amused by my response to his tickling.

An idea struck me.

"Yuuichi! Shooting star!" I pointed up at a completely random patch of the dark sky.

"Huh?" He paused and glanced up. "Where? There's no shoo-WHAHAHA-"

I thought turnabout was fair play as I knocked him to the floor and assaulted his sides as well. His black hair splayed across the tiles, his eyes squeezed shut while trying to bat my hands away from his sides. He reminded me of a furry creature of sorts that was squirming out of its captor's grasp. A cat most likely, one that was utterly annoyed about having to lose its cool and normally distant composure. I was kneeling near his waist, bent slightly over him, hoping to make the most of the situation so he'd never try tickling me again.

"Tru-ce...hahaha...TRUCE!" He was breathless and I relented slightly, but it was a wrong move.

Yuuichi grinned, grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to the floor beside him. I could see him hands coming at my sides again, and I quickly shielded them with my own hands, before letting a comment slip from my mouth.

"Ah! Yuuichi you said truce! Even Hikaru wouldn't tickle me this hard!"

I waited, but no further attack ensued. Perplexed, I turned around to face the person behind me, who had just gone eerily silent. My eyes met his, ice cold blue riveted on chocolate. I suddenly felt like looking at something, anything else at that moment, but I simply couldn't break away from his fixated gaze.

"Etsuko," he murmured, "you're...really close to Hikaru right?"

"Yeah. We grew up together, so it's a given," I replied honestly, without much thought, "he's a really good friend."

Yuuichi sat upright and turned away from me, his face and the expression on it expertly hidden by a shadow.

"Yuuichi, what's wrong?" I was slightly unnerved by the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Nothing. We should be going to sleep. There's still school tomorrow. Good night, Etsuko."

The flat tone Yuuichi had used was the exact same one he employed while in school, but I suddenly realised that even though he spoke to everyone else that way (except Shujin-san, perhaps), he had never applied it when he conversed with me. I was taken aback by the abrupt detachment Yuuichi displayed, and remained puzzled as he grabbed his guitar case and headed for the stairs back down into the apartment. I watched as he took determined steps away from the rooftop, but I called out to him anyway.

"Yuuichi?"

He stopped.

"Thanks for promising to keep my secret, singing for me," I walked closer to him, "and for cheering me up. If not for you I'd still be thinking about..."

"A certain pokemon?" He completed my sentence as he held the door open for me, though still deliberately glancing in another direction to avoid meeting my eyes.

"Yeah. I must be really disillusioned today, but I feel like telling you about Jigglypuff before you start poking fun at me."

"Then I don't want to hear it," he shook his head, "I'll only listen if you genuinely want me to know."

"Really? Wow, thanks. It must make no sense to you, but I really miss Jigglypuff. We were...close."

"As close as Hikaru?"

That was an interesting question. I'd never compared Hikaru to Jigglypuff before, and had always viewed them as separate entities, albeit indispensible pillars of support. To Hikaru, I told my worst fears, but to Jigglypuff, I related everything, and he did the same with me, even though I never knew who he really was. I made my decision and replied Yuuichi.

"No," I began, as he paused while opening the door that led to the 17th storey corridor.

"Closer than Hikaru."

...

_Lol. That's a really long scene. Truthfully, I intended to make it longer, but I think it's better in the next chapter. Man, I haven't even gotten to my main plot yet. Hahaha. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and bearing with my long, drawn out storyline. =)_

_(Oh. And I just wanna say I did not take the tickling scene from Secluded Sapphire's newest one-shot in 'Melodies of the Girl with Golden Eyes'. I just read it after I wrote this and ...i guess we think alike? Hopefully you didn't think it was too similar...)_

_i don't own "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars either. That guy is sheer talent..._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14! **

Ever wonder what the end of the year means? Sure, it means that we're all getting a little older, that there's going to be new opportunities, and there's also going to be plenty of good food going about during Christmas and the extremely happy New Year. My grandfather and I are all set to go on an eating spree at every party we were invited to, and we'll gatecrash the others as well. Times like those make me certain that my family doesn't want to be associated with me, though Okasan doesn't mind. Come to think of it, most of the time Ojiisan and Okasan are together, Okasan makes HUGE portions of food just for him. And if I'm around, she'd throw in another six cups of rice to the already overflowing cooker.

It was now the first week of December, and it marked the fourth month since I first moved to Tokyo. School would temporarily release us from its evil, ensnaring clutches for two weeks, allowing us to revel in the joyous festivities at the end of the month, before yanking us back into its relentless jaws of mind-blowing boredom. It's a sad reality, but hey, it's a break; take it or leave it.

Life had gone on normally for the past three months, Kaichou and Yuuichi really didn't tell a soul about who I was, and Sakura just gave me the occasional trouble. It seemed like Itsuki sensei was on my side though, seeing how I aced most of his mathematics tests while a certain flower failed nearly all of hers.

I plonked down into the comfy sofa that I had come to recline in rather often over the past two months, and I turned on the flat screened television to kill a bit of time on this rather cloudy Saturday morning. The goggle box flickered to life, and an obnoxiously over-decorated float greeted my eyes. I love the president, I truly do, but in all honesty, I think I'd die from the stress he'd give me if I was his interior designer. Scrap that, I wouldn't die from stress. The time he takes to choose between baby pink and azure blue could make anyone age a century.

After recoiling from the terrifying sight of neon pink and green Christmas strobe lighting, I focused on the four figures that were standing on the float. One of them waved sincerely with the loudhailer in his other hand, his black hair a little tousled, forehead slightly damp as he tugged his arm away from a rather irritated blonde man beside him. The blonde tried to lunge repeatedly at the loudhailer, with the same scowl on his face that I identified as the one he showed whenever he lost to the slightly older male beside him, even at games such as "hungry hippos" eons ago. The other man subtly stuck the front part of his tongue at the blonde before reverting right back to his broad grin at the masses of screaming fans. I laughed as another black haired figure on the float shot them a rather menacing look, while a much shorter woman with golden eyes beamed at the crowd, party popper in hand, oblivious to her two unprofessional sons and their annoyed father.

The Tsuruga family (Otousan, Okasan and those two jokers I usually call my brothers) were on tour for the entire December, promoting a short seasonal film they had rushed to complete within two months. Even though it was a short film, the touching Christmas story also brought the family onscreen for the first time since a decade ago, when the Tsurugas acted in a drama portraying the comedic woes of a young family. That was when Okasan and Otousan were slightly younger, and Kaitou and Kichirou were incredibly immature and mischievous. Now, Okasan and Otousan are slightly older and much wiser, while Kaitou and Kichirou are, unfortunately, still incredibly immature and mischievous.

I grinned as I channel surfed and found Tom and Jerry reruns on cartoon network. It was certainly easier on the eyes than that pink and green monstrosity, and I got lost in an episode revolving around a ferocious man eating lion and a rather scared Tom. Giggling till my sides hurt when Jerry managed to subdue the beast, while the jealous Tom simultaneously fell into a manhole, it dawned upon me that I had yet to make breakfast, and my stomach wasn't going to tolerate further neglect.

My fingers grabbed the metal ice cream scoop and I struck the cabinet a little to retrieve the frying pan. For a rather costly apartment, it was pretty surprising that one particular cabinet wouldn't open without being hit rather hard with a immalleable object. Over the weeks, I've come to realise that the ice cream scoop works best.

I placed the pan on the stove, and cracked two eggs onto it, while heating the toaster for at least five pieces of bread. I would normally head to the Tsuruga residence on saturdays, but since everyone else was on that kaleidoscopic eyesore, it also meant no home cooked food for a month. Bending down to whack the cabinet another time for a cooking pot, I suddenly heard something ceramic in nature crash on marble floor. Venturing out of the kitchen and into my living room, there was another crash, but I realised it wasn't coming from my apartment, but rather from upstairs.

Ice cream scoop still in hand, I quickly turned off my stove and toaster, reassuring my stomach that I'd prepare one more portion for making it wait just a bit longer, and set off to investigate the source of all that breakage. Ascending the stairs to the front door of the apartment above, I tentatively rang the doorbell. Even though I had been residing in the apartment for a third of the year, I had never made an effort to know my neighbours with the exception of Yuuichi, but I didn't have much of a say in that matter. However, I was concerned with the sudden breakage of breakable goods, and thus it led me to ring the doorbell again, this time a little more urgently.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, but I heard something crash, and I'm just – are you okay?" I called out when I didn't get any response.

I was prepared to maim the electronic lock with my trusty ice cream scoop when the door opened.

To reveal Yuuichi.

Shirtless.

With blood gushing out a three inch gash at his side.

...

"What the crap happened?"

I was grasping a bottle of iodine, drowning cotton wool in the dark yellow antiseptic, while Yuuichi sat on a chair, pressing a piece of cloth to the wound, which was quickly becoming soaked with his blood.

"Long story," he replied through gritted teeth.

Checking that the bleeding had more or less stopped, I checked the open wound. It was a clean cut, and nothing seemed to be wedged in the raw flesh, so I hurriedly applied the antiseptic without bothering to warn him.

"OW! That hurt! At least tell me when you're going to – OW!" Yuuichi yelped a little as I continued slathering antiseptic onto his wound.

"Shh...tell me later."

I could feel his eyes watching me as I dried his right side, cleaning up any excess antiseptic. His left fist clenched a little when I pressed slightly on the cut, and then slowly removed the pressure on it. Yuuichi relaxed and let out a long sigh, and then unfurled his fist to reveal a bloodstained palm. I placed the dressing on the gash, before wrapping it in place with the long roll of bandage. Rising from my crouched position, I took the cloth from his hand, rinsed it in cold water and returned with wet paper towels.

"I was trying to film a music video of sorts for a song I wrote," he started as I tucked the stray end of the bandage into a previous round, covering his rather smooth, tan skin, "and while jumping off the couch for the bridge, I had a mishap."

I threw him a look.

"Fine, two mishaps."

I glanced behind him and saw the remnants of a ceramic vase and a small glass trophy.

"In my rush to save that little token from elementary school, I got cut by the ceramic shards. Then I had to take off my shirt to see the extent of the damage, and then you sounded really worried at the door," Yuuichi seemed to be laughing at his own foolishness and lack of rationality, and then looked at me sheepishly, "you must think I'm an idiot."

"Not really, no," I remembered my letters from Jigglypuff, and thought about how I'd probably catch a grenade to prevent them from getting destroyed, though I might have skipped out on the removing my top and then opening the door to someone of the opposite sex.

The silence was comfortable this time, and Yuuichi stared wistfully at his wall, as I took a paper towel and gently wiped the blood off his hands. I marvelled a little at how wide his palms really were, and how long his fingers seemed to be. He kept his fingernails long, probably to assist him in producing those heavenly tunes on his guitar. I grabbed another chair and tried to clean his cuticles as much as I could.

"Hey, Etsu?" He breathed softly, "thanks."

"No problem. Just...don't jump on the couch again. You scared me when you opened the door."

"Why? My stunning six-pack a bit too much for you?" He smirked, suddenly regaining that taunting gleam in his eyes, and I removed my hands from his and moved them to my hips.

"You're talking to the girl who's got two brothers whose abdominal muscles are unmatched in this country. I'm referring to that crazy cut you sustained when you were acting like a small kid half your age."

"Oh come on you must have felt something," he cajoled, "tell me. Pretend that I'm that gay best friend of yours that all you women want."

"Gosh. If your wound isn't swelling up, your ego is certainly making up for it."

"Hey, I've already been hurt physically. Why take another stab at the injured guy?" He seemed rather amused at the effect his teasing had on me.

"Fine, you looked hot. Done?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt the blush creep onto my face. Biting my lip and turning away nervously, I ran a hand through my blond hair, and then fell into my lap as my right thumb started a massive war with my left. Without any warning, his right hand engulfed mine and he moved his face closer till we were looking straight at each other. You know many stories make mention of the clichéd spark that happens between their male and female leads, but I swear at that moment, for the first time in my life, I thought maybe that there was more to the eyes than just to see. His crystal blue orbs bore straight into my soul, but I somehow knew that I couldn't escape his gaze even if I turned away. We just stayed there for a long time, probably long enough for the president to finish choosing all the fabric he needed for the next year.

Yuuichi's eyes conveyed something to me too, and I had a sudden longing to know him, to understand who he really was. I wanted to know the Yuuichi that was sentimental enough to disregard his safety and lunge for an elementary school trophy. I wanted to know the Yuuichi that sang on the rooftop, his soul bare for me to see. I wanted to know the Yuuichi that worked so hard on whatever that was written in that old, leather bound book. Searching for traces of them in his eyes, he caught me off guard and drew my hand into his lap, expertly replying my previous one-word question.

"No, we're not done," his breathing was slightly shallow, and he looked down at our hands. "You...you haven't finished cleaning my nails yet."

"Yuuichi, I...I don't run a manicure shop! And what kind of man are you, getting a manicure?"

"The best kind!"

"Don't make me elbow you in the ribs."

"You wouldn't, you weird out pokemon lover. Oh oh, you're free today right? Help me film the video."

"You're nuts! Have you seen the gash you have after attempting to film it? You must've fallen off the crazy tree and hit every branch on the way down."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Help me film. Please?"

"No."

"Aww come on for my hot abs at least."

"No."

I let out something between a laugh and a sigh; glad the tense moment was over, but inexplicably disappointed. And it irked me that I didn't know why.

...

_Oh man i'm sorry for not writing for so long! I went for an unplanned holiday, (to Tokyo no less! XD) and I just returned last Saturday. Forgive me, and I hoped you liked that. Heh. Promise promise more will come soon as I am done with examinations and school. Thanks for reading, reviewing, favouriting, and just giving this fan fic a chance when you clicked on it. THANKS! XD_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15!**

"Yuuichi, you've got to look betrayed. You're not the least bit convincing!" I fumbled with the state-of-the-art digital camcorder and stopped filming.

"What? Etsuko, it probably looks fine! We've done this scene at least fifteen times already!" Yuuichi snapped back, grabbing the camcorder from my hands and pressing the replay button a little harder than a replay button ought to be pressed. "See? My face is so grim in this; I'd probably scare the Reaper and his long, deformed axe away for two more lifetimes!"

"It's a sickle," I stated plainly, the cool breeze on the rooftop tousling my hair, "and you look frustrated in that, not betrayed. Your song speaks about you having been used unknowingly, and that you've been lied to, but you can't change a thing."

"Wouldn't I feel frustrated?" He spat out grumpily.

"I don't have a clue about what happened to you in the past, but if I took a stab at guessing how you felt when you wrote this song, frustration would be the last thing on my list."

Yuuichi stared long and hard at me with his icy blue irises, and I bit my lip ever so slightly, hoping that I hadn't gone out of line. I had been helping him film parts of the music video for nearly a week after his wound had healed, and it was now Wednesday on the second week of December. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be working. The emotions he showed on film never seemed to match the ones I sensed were embedded deep inside his song, and my lack of satisfaction with the scenes led to the continuous reshooting of them. The frustration Yuuichi was showing in the shots today was clearly from the lack of progress, not from the song. After a couple of minutes, he was still eyeing me indignantly. I let out a soft sigh, sat down and scratched my head, and he sat down beside me as well.

"Do you know why I'm reluctant to use all the shots we've taken?" I inquired gently.

"Because you'll only accept screenplay if it involves fluffy mythical creatures whose names start with a 'poke' and end with a 'mon' ?"

"Close, but no," I smiled, mentally thanking him for diffusing the tension, "it's because your song is powerful."

"So?"

"So the intensity of all the shots so far comes nowhere near to how powerful your lyrics are. It's akin to telling others you found the love of your life, but your face shows that she's about as attractive as yesterday's meatloaf."

"Basically, it's not real enough for you emotion-wise."

"It's either real or it isn't. There's no in between," I paused and glanced at him in all seriousness. "Yuuichi, people can tell when it's genuine. There are tons of music videos out there. What makes yours different?"

He eyed me wearily, and seemed to be caught in an extremely deep dark hole of thought. His jaw clenched in frustration and he stared into the distance.

"I...I wrote this song a week after I ran away from home, and found out things about my dad that I never should have. Believe me, I really did feel betrayed. Hurt. Angry. Confused," his voice had pain intertwined in it.

"It hasn't gone away, has it?"

"Not completely," he sighed, "so, what are we going to do now?"

I gave it thought. Rushing to film the next scene or pushing Yuuichi again wouldn't be of much use. I remembered an exercise Okasan taught me years ago, when I asked her how she was able to realistically portray so many different emotions. She told me that the easiest way was to visualise an incident that you went through before, when you felt that emotion the strongest.

"I have an idea," I began quietly, "but it's going to hurt. Mentally."

"Let me guess. You're going to make me relive the scene."

"Not make. I'm going to ask nicely." I stated, my voice still just a tiny bit louder than a whisper. "Yuuichi, are you willing to do it?"

"If that's what it takes, I'm all for the idea," he gave me a wan smile, along with his approval.

"Okay then. Forget about the video for now, close your eyes, and go through everything that happened that week in your mind, slowly."

I wasn't sure whether to ask him to say whatever happened out loud to make it more realistic, but I realised that they were his memories of an absolutely heart wrenching experience he'd been through, and I had as much right to butt into his recollections as a lowly elf would have to say something about Santa's coal list for that Christmas. Reclining slightly on the hard tiling of the roof next to him, I noticed his hands clench and unfurl repeatedly, but I sensed that he wasn't able to relive the complete depth of emotions he had experienced years ago, probably because my presence piled on unnecessary pressure. I put a hand on his shoulder, and then whispered that I'd return later, before silently pacing across the roof and back to my apartment.

...

I opened the door to the roof twenty minutes later, armed with a fresh box of Kleenex. Yuuichi turned my way and gave me a smile that melted my heart, although I never would admit it to anyone else. He beckoned me to sit beside him, and I could see the recent trail that his tears left on his cheeks. He gratefully took a piece of tissue and wiped his face, and continued to smile serenely at me. Did he want me to melt then and there and make a mess of the rooftop? Sheesh!

"Why do you look so annoyed?" He continued grinning. "Your experiment was a success. And I think the scoreboard reads 'Yuuichi: one, Yuuichi's demons: zero.'"

"I take it you're feeling better," I managed to mumble under the sheer power that smile had over me.

"You did me a favour, Etsu. I was scared of thinking about the incident because I thought it would haunt me more, but it did the exact opposite," he continued, "I owe you one."

"So, are we going to continue filming now?"

"Yes, you pokemon-loving perfectionist, we are."

...

I was editing the video in the school library the next day, trimming certain scenes to fit in nicely. Yuuichi had made a complete breakthrough yesterday, and we managed to get all the needed shots in nearly one take. It was almost done, and I would need another day or so with the editing. Yuuichi was rather impatient to see the finished product, and badgered me to send him the final video by tomorrow afternoon.

I was contemplating whether or not to cut a certain scene when I heard my name being whispered. Looking up to its source, I found Hikaru at the other end of the table. I gingerly removed my headphones and tilted my head to one side, wondering what was up. He held a marker in his right hand and a stack of paper in his left. Putting down the marker with a grin, he showed me what was written on the first sheet of paper.

"_You"_

Me? I raised an inquisitive eyebrow as he showed me the second piece of paper.

"_me"_

Him? This was interesting. Hikaru turned the third one over.

"_Tomorrow"_

Did he have a basketball game he wanted me to attend?

"_8pm"_

That's a little late for a basketball match, isn't it?

"_Ice skating rink."_

"That's a weird place for a basketball game!" I blurted out before receiving cold stares from the nerds busily cramming in the library.

Hikaru laughed soundlessly at me, grabbed the marker and scribbled on another piece of paper.

"_I've got free passes for two, and I don't want to waste them."_

He looked at me expectantly, and then began writing again.

"_You coming?"_

It had been a long time since I managed to spend any time with Hikaru at all, and I was looking forward to ice skating since the weather had gotten everybody bundled up in winter clothing. I grinned and closed my laptop, taking out a piece of paper and grabbing the marker from his hand, before penning something on the white expanse and showing it to him.

"_Sure."_

...

Friday came around soon enough, and it was the last day of school before the new term next year. I wished my classmates well, telling them to have a merry Christmas and a happy new year, as they enthused about spending the holidays with their family. I tried to filter out their excitement, since I would probably have a slim chance of seeing my family during Christmas this year, or any year for that matter. They had always been invited to numerous parties that I could not be present at, for fear of any chance the paparazzi might have of pouncing on me and my identity unawares. I would be lucky if I even got to wish Okasan a happy birthday on her actual birthday itself.

I sighed and made my way out of the door, catching a glimpse of the irate Sakura being confined in another classroom, taking part in the first session of cram school for the holidays to improve her horrendous grades. I chuckled at the thought that at least someone was having it worse than I was.

Yuuichi's music video was almost done, and I just had to tweak the video a bit to match the song he had sent me. I was utterly impressed when I heard the recording of the song; it sounded professional, even though the only instruments at his disposal were his guitar and his mackintosh. He'd probably rerecorded it after we had finished with the music video too, so as to really capture the full range of emotions that song covered.

Fate plays rather interesting tricks, and I saw the musical genius himself stroll out of the student council room.

"Finished with the video yet?" He prodded.

"You impatient kid, ever heard that good things comes to those who wait?" I sighed and carried on with my journey down the hallway.

"Uh, no. Because this music video isn't just good, it's completely mind-blowingly awesome."

"Fine fine! I'll send it by today."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He grinned, waved goodbye, and then started down the hallway to get his guitar from home before heading for his job. He'd even requested an earlier shift that day so he could get home early to see the video. I couldn't help feeling that there was more to it than Yuuichi was letting on, but I couldn't be bothered to get myself confused with thinking about why he was in such a hurry. Emptying out my locker so that I wouldn't have to return to school during the break, I started for home too, hoping to get home early enough to edit the video, send it to Yuuichi, and then change before setting off to the ice skating rink.

...

Doesn't it always seem as if the universe is against you and your well-thought out plans? I reached home at 7pm with barely enough time to get changed, so completing the video was out of the question. I didn't want to rush any of it, so I decided to finish it when I returned. One more day of waiting wouldn't kill Yuuichi, would it?

Leaving my apartment with my gloves and warm woollen hat, I couldn't help but feel that there was something ominous about the way the electronic door bolted shut behind me.

...

"Etsu, you've gotten worse since the last time I skated with you!" Hikaru taunted as he whizzed past me.

"Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet!" I hollered back, deliberately increasing my pace to match his.

The rink was rather quiet for a Friday night, mostly because many people were at home celebrating the start of the holidays with their families over dinner. Hikaru must have known about my family's absence, and was probably trying to make me feel less lonely. I grinned at his thoughtfulness, which was very hard to match with his current childish behaviour.

I skated swiftly towards him, and practically drew circles around where he stood, looking rather amused at my antics as well. I managed a laugh and tagged him, then stuck my tongue out. He feigned a mortified gasp, and I squealed as we played a makeshift form of tag.

"Haha...Etsu, we're too old for this," he panted after a while.

"I agree, but it's still fun!" I grinned back.

"There's no denying it," he returned the smile, "I'm going to get food. Wait for me here, will you?"

I nodded my head, and watched as he exited the rink to buy snacks from a nearby stand. Sighing in contentment, I realised I had spent plenty of my younger years playing with Hikaru, him being such a close friend and a brother. I wondered what had compelled me to tell Yuuichi on the roof that day that I felt closer to Jigglypuff than to Hikaru. It hadn't seemed like a lie, but it was certainly thought-worthy.

_Oh crap! Yuuichi! The video!_ I muttered under my breath, cursing the fact that I was having so much fun that I'd forgotten to tell Yuuichi that he'd have to wait another day for it. Whipping out my phone, I realised that it was already past ten, and I had three messages and five missed calls from that pervert.

First message, 8.30pm: _Oi. Jigglypuff's girlfriend. Could you send the video now?_

Second message, 9.19pm: _Hey Etsu how's it going? At least respond...I kinda need the video asap..._

Third message, 10.15pm: _Etsu, seriously, pick up my calls._

At that moment, my phone vibrated and flashed more jarringly than usual and I was completely sure that it was Yuuichi. Hurriedly answering the call, I nearly yelled into the phone.

"Etsu? Is that you? Thank goodness! Really, I need the video now."

"What's wrong?" My eyebrows furrowed. "Why the rush?"

"I'm...sending it in for a competition," he sounded panicky, "it's...organised by LME. I was afraid that if I told you, you wouldn't help me film."

Did he think I was that petty? Not wanting to film it because that would make me pissed to be involved in the same company as my family?

"What nonsense! Wait. When's the deadline? It's tonight isn't it?" I hissed.

"Well, you can send it over now, and it'll still be eligible."

I'd take at least fifteen minutes to get home, and it was already 10.50.

"What time does it close?" My voice was shaky.

"11pm."

_Oh shit..._

...

Haha. Interesting eh? XD read review, yada yada. THANKS! XD


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey! Haha. I'm going to be away for camp till this Saturday, so my next update will probably be next week. But I will think of you guys during camp, as I sleep in a tent and get red spots all over from irritating, rash-inducing flies. Enjoy chapter 16! =)_

**Chapter 16!**

If this is what marathon runners have to put up with during the last hundred metres of an epic race to that velvet red finish line with about eight of their closest competitors approximately two millimetres apart, I don't want to be a marathon runner. Hikaru's bewildered expression when I flung my blister-inducing rental skates at his face and made a run for it was worth seeing over and over again just for laughs, but I was too flustered to bother with explanations.

I followed the happenings at LME rather religiously, and had heard enough about the yearly amateur music video competition to know that even the consolation prize winners had a chance to record a track of their preference.

Looking back on that Friday night, I should have had more common sense to hail a cab, instead of making a desperate dash for it. The possibility remains though, that without those annoying traffic lights I stopped at (I cursed all twenty-three of them rather openly, along with that law-abiding nature that Okasan drilled into me), I could have made it home in time. Regardless, it was probably more of a pipe dream for me to be able to run a full five kilometres in ten minutes.

When I finally made it to the lobby of my tidy apartment block at eleven-fifteen, I was anxious to say the least. I had informed Yuuichi that I was on my way back, and he had taken the liberty to wait for me near the lifts. Granted, my hailstorm of apologies and rants were indiscernible to the human ear, due to my panting from having sprinted all the way back. Yuuichi put up with garbled speech for about ten seconds, before asking me to calm down and catch my breath.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it back in time, but couldn't you have told me earlier?" I spat out, when I was capable of comprehendible speech, as I bent down and clutched my quivering knees.

"Etsuko, it's my fault, and you didn't have to run like the world was going to end," Yuuichi heaved a sigh. "Forget it, its way past the deadline already."

If Yuuichi thought he could hide the disappointment that was evident in his dejected gaze, he had another thing coming. Working with Yuuichi for the video had made me a lot more sensitive to his emotions he showed, and if he was trying to be distant and nonchalant, he was failing miserably.

Considering that the competition was organised by LME, I could actually worm my way into Kichirou's sister complex and badger him to recommend Yuuichi's video even though it was late. I for one knew that Mr Sawada's young assistant had an irrevocable crush on my second onii-san, and would easily change the timing of submission for a minute of meaningless banter with him. But I didn't want to use the connections I had.

It wasn't like I hadn't used the relationships I had to help others before. Earlier this year, when one of my classmates enthused that she'd do anything to have a photo with Kichirou when she waited outside the theatre during a red-carpet event, I couldn't help but ask Kichirou to comply. He did so with commendable grace, and even specifically called her out for a meet-and-greet session, in addition to the photo. The only drawback to asking my enthusiastic playboy brother for help was that he would surely put me in a branded ball gown and take at least ten million photos. It isn't that I'm adverse to the idea of an outfit that doesn't consist of pants, but having shied away from the entertainment industry, I couldn't wrap my head around the notion that I should be allowed to don diamond-studded satin dresses. Hence, I'm extremely uncomfortable in skirts and the like, even though they might be perfectly casual and possibly even better for blending in than an eternal, unchanging attire of cargo pants and graphic tees would ever be. Kichirou regularly uses those photos to have his way with Kaitou, who's got an even bigger sister complex than he does.

That fact aside, even though I knew it was possible for me to get Yuuichi's video in even if the submission date had been months before, I didn't want to bend the rules just because I could. Besides, Yuuichi had talent, and he'd be able to participate in any other major competition.

Just as I was about to verbalise my previous train of thought, I saw Yuuichi turn away, with his head hanging a lot lower than what was healthy for his neck.

"No, I'm not forgetting about it," I grabbed his hand (wow, was it wide) and dragged him into the elevator, jabbing the button that had a '16' imprinted clearly on its polished metal surface.

"Why? It's already over, and they won't accept it," his eyes widened, "and if you're thinking about making a loophole for me, I'd rather jump into a bottomless trench."

The elevator doors slid open elegantly and with much more grace than I had as I stormed into the corridor, slightly offended that Yuuichi thought I was going to use underhand means to assist him. Granted, I certainly gave him the impression that I was doing so. At least I knew now that his sense of integrity was a solid rock, even when it boiled down to once in a lifetime opportunities. The competition was the platform Yuuichi needed to be recognised as an artist, and it was unfortunate that he missed it. But I doubted that all hope was lost.

Yuuichi followed behind as I kept mum and entered my apartment before turning on the computer. Putting the final touches on the video with a very confused Yuuichi breathing down my neck, I entered the official site, which hadn't been closed yet, and uploaded our week's worth of hard work, before pushing the keyboard towards Yuuichi so he could fill in the details. He looked at me, his blue eyes searching mine for some kind of explanation, before relenting and filling in the necessary information. I clicked the 'submit' button and smiled.

"Even though it won't be eligible, it's still worth a shot," I grinned at him, hoping it would cheer him up somehow, "it'll still be viewed by the talent scouts at LME, and believe me, you're a talent I doubt they want to miss out on."

"You think so?" His gaze had a bit more hope than the one I saw in the lift lobby.

"I know so."

...

_Oh wow I'm sorry about the short chapter, but I promise the next few will be epic-ly epic! XD thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17!**

"Aren't you supposed to be staying under the radar, rather than attracting the attention of about every living creature that turns your way?" Yuuichi muttered as we hurried down the sidewalk, his thin, white collared shirt doing barely enough to keep the mid-December chill from getting to him.

"If I dressed normally, anyone would spot me in an instant. But if I do something entirely out of character, no one would suspect a thing!" I tugged uncomfortably at the black suit jacket over my smaller leather one as I attempted to keep up with his pace.

"Anyone told you how screwed your logic is, Etsu?" He ignored the irate green man pinned to the traffic light, flickering more furiously than usual as we made a mad dash across the road.

"You'd be the first. And also the first guy to make me wait for him to get dressed. Thanks to you my life is in even greater peril than it is on a regular basis," I added the last sentence in for good measure as my feet touched the other side of the pedestrian crossing moments before the impatient motorists on the road sped past the junction.

"It's practically an interview! I have to be presentable!"

"I told you it doesn't matter!"

"This coming from the person who showed up wearing tight leather pants, a tank top and a black leather jacket that barely covers your midriff in the middle of winter?"

...

Right about now, you're probably wondering where we are and what in the world we're doing. That's a good thing to be puzzled about really, because I myself was confounded at that point in time. But to fully understand what was going on as we bickered about clothes and tried to avoid becoming road kill, I'd have to tell you what occurred on Monday, just three days after we sent the video in.

Yuuichi had gotten a call from the LME offices, regrettably informing him that the video was not eligible, even though they had received it. The idiot whom I call my friend decided that that was all the wonderful people at the entertainment company had to say to him, so he swiftly set down the receiver and went for a shower. Apparently, it wasn't, and his phone rang off the hook for the next ten minutes. (I was watching Otousan's newest tragedy, and it gets a little distracting when your irresponsible neighbour doesn't have the decency to pick up the phone while your dad's bawling his heart out in high definition. The incessant ringing almost drove me to tears as well.)

After rapping on Yuuichi's door in hopes that he might put me out of my misery by answering the annoying electronic device, the ringing finally halted, and was quickly replaced with victorious shouts of joy. That was soon followed by an unheralded attack from him as he opened his door, recognised the director of his video, and threw his wet, half-soapy arms around me. Turns out LME's famed, WAY-over-the-top President liked the song and its music video so much that he wanted to meet Yuuichi, and possibly discuss the prospect of a contract. Yuuichi enthused that Lory wanted to see the person who assisted him in filming as well, and that we would be visiting the studios the next day at five in the afternoon.

Yuuichi wasn't sure if I should go, considering that practically everyone at LME would have probably worked with at least three of my family members within the past two decades or more. I assured him, however, that I wouldn't let my guard down and that if Otousan could succeed in fooling well known producers and cameramen in one of his earlier films as a cold-hearted, freak-of-nature murderer, I would be able to do the same. I found outfits in Okasan's closet on Monday night that eerily matched Otousan's costumes in that show, but I shrugged it off and wore one of the more conservative ones in the towering mountain of leather, spikes and the occasional lace.

I had waited impatiently at the bus stop outside my apartment for an hour before Yuuichi showed up at half-past four, while holding my head up haughtily like any respectable punk would. Although I'm sure I played that "devil-may-care" role well, till today I'm still wondering why so many men of all ages seemed to stare at me with this ravenous gleam in their eyes. Did people get hungrier in winter? I asked Yuuichi that when he finally showed up, but he seemed a tad distracted too when he looked at me. Maybe the weather was messing with male brains and giving them all this glazed expression. But what I do know was that Yuuichi was kind enough to lend me his more formal black jacket, seeing that my outfit didn't keep much of my chest or stomach warm.

...

"Here, I'll give your jacket back," I hastily unbuttoned it as the elevator doors of LME slid soundlessly shut.

After twenty minutes of frenzied brisk walking, Yuuichi must have felt cold without his jacket, and I felt bad for making him suffer in silence. I handed the black piece of clothing back to its rightful owner before he could protest (he tried to, and I still don't know why), and then tugged a little at my own clothing. Leather, as I had come to realise over the past hour or so, wasn't very comfortable, especially when it had been sitting stiff in the closet for years. I was pulling on the ends of the too-short jacket when a hand closed around mine.

"Stop yanking it already, it'll do for now," Yuuichi looked at a random corner of the lift, "just don't ever dress like this again. Ever."

I mumbled under my breath and prepared for a change in my character. Using my blonde hair and American accent to convince the wonderful people at LME I was nothing less than a mysterious, talented foreigner, I opened my dark eyes and let my no nonsense character take form within me. I had modelled it after my mother's cold businesswoman act earlier this year, and added touches of playfulness to it as well. I slipped into the role easily, and wondered if I connected more with this character than I did my usual self.

"Well, Etsu wouldn't normally dress like this. And now I'm Emily Hart, your kick-ass director," I referred to the name I had decided to go by in case anyone else suspected my real identity. "So don't you dare tell me what to do, cause I'm calling the shots."

"Whoa," the surprise in Yuuichi's voice was apparent as he turned back to face me with his trademark smirk, "sassy."

...

"I like the concept of the video, especially how it shows Yuuichi being alone without anyone to trust. It's breaking out of the normal feel-good songs," the President gave us a wan smile, "it's out of my character to say that I enjoyed it, but it was poignant and reminded me of a youth I knew a long time ago, his passion coupled with his despair. Your voice and music really speaks to the soul. I never thought that anyone else could go through that wide range of emotions, but here you are, doing that, and allowing it to be captured on film. "

I gave a satisfied grin and leaned back comfortably in my seat on the sofa, lounging as if I had been in the President's office countless times. I glanced lazily around the room and realised that this was a far cry from the over-decorated monstrosities he frequently put together. The space was clear and simple, with huge glass windows looking over Tokyo's landscape, and its interior was filled with functional furniture. It seemed to me that when the President took things seriously, he did it with flair and gusto as well. I had never met the President before, but now I knew why my entire family adored him. He felt like family to me already, but I couldn't let him find out who I was, lest he told my parents (or grandparents) and kick up a ruckus.

"But what I would like to know, Yuuichi," the President referred to the piece of paper in his hands, smiled and continued, "Aki Yuuichi, is why you submitted the video late."

"President –" Yuuichi began, but was interrupted.

"Lory, call me Lory."

"Well then, Lory, thanks for the earlier compliment," Yuuichi smiled and stated smoothly, "it was my fault the video was late, because I didn't want to tell Emily that I was going to submit it. I was foolish to fear that she would not support the idea. But when she did find out, she went out of her way to get it in, even though I had already given up."

"Really?" the President seemed interested by his words, and turned to face me. "Emily, you filmed the video?"

"Yes, I did," I replied with a reasonable amount of detachment, and then grinned bemusedly, "although I prefer to think I directed it, instead of solely filming."

"Emily, are you looking for a contract here with LME as well?"

"No, sir, I am not. I would be happy enough to see Yuuichi get signed."

The mere thought of allowing myself to be a part of the entertainment industry was already daunting.

"What a shame, I was considering giving you a shot," Lory sighed. "Well, I do want to further discuss the video with you, but then you'll be free to go. Yuuichi, if you'd go to the conference room, my assistant will go through the details of the contract with you, and you can choose whether or not to accept it."

"Arigato, Lory-sama," Yuuichi bowed formally and left the room, as I remained on the sofa, watching as the President got out of his seat and locked the door.

The silence was deafening as Lory returned from having bolted the door shut. He took a couple of steps closer to where I sat, and on the inside, I was petrified by his actions. What was he going to do? Had he already figured out who I was? Definitely not, he had never met me before, and even if anyone had told him I existed, my current personality was so different from whom I really was. My cool exterior threatened to crumble as I sat there motionless, waiting for Lory to say something. But what made the situation more unnerving was the fact that he remained silent, and instead observed me with unreadable eyes.

"Stand," he commanded, and his authoritative tone made me obey at once.

He eyed me suspiciously, and I gulped, hoping that maybe my sudden dry throat would disappear. This had to be even scarier than dealing with that drunkard from months ago, or even Sakura in all her controlling of Youdai High. I saw Lory put his hands on his hips and stared one final time at me.

"Etsuko, what are you doing here?"

_CRAP!_

...

_Wow. The president's really fast aint he? Haha. Hope you enjoyed it, and I apologise for making you wait so long. It should be pretty fast from here on out, and I plan to get two chapters out within this week. ^^ yay._


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18!**

"H-how..." I stammered incoherently.

Lory's gaze fixed on my own petrified eyes as they widened in shock. He knew! And now he would tell my parents, and possibly my brothers, that I dared to make a move into the industry. That I dared to act as someone else and break their image of a perfect family! I winced and turned my dark eyes away before the guilt could consume me. I should have known never to accompany Yuuichi to –

"Oh my goodness Etsuko! Etsuuuu! I finally get to meet you! All these years of your parents hiding you away from me!" I wasn't sure how Lory had pulled me into a tight hug, but I was currently suffocating in his arms. "Those selfish brats, thinking they could fool me if they tried hard enough!"

"Lory-san, how did you...?" I sputtered as he released me.

"Ah, I might be old, but you've got your mom's spunk, and your dad's cool appearance," he folded his arms in satisfaction. "And also because you're wearing the same clothes that I gave your mom years ago."

"You gave Okasan tight leather outfits?" My eyes bugged out.

"Well, it was to protect that baka you have for a father," the President of one Japan's leading entertainment industries let out an immature pout, "and all these years he doesn't even let me get a glimpse of his 'little angel' that he sent to Kuu to raise! To think I helped him when he came to me all dark and haunted at 15!"

Was Lory GLAD to see me? And what did he mean that these outfits for Okasan were to protect Otousan? He'd probably go hormonally insane if she wore anything close to these figure hugging pants. This place was getting weirder and weirder by the second. No wonder my family was keeping me away from all this insanity. I decided to clear things up before they got out of hand.

"Lory-san, I'm only here because I helped Yuuichi film the video, and I just wanted to help him, that's it. Please, please don't tell Okasan and Otousan I came; it'd only make them worried and try to convince me to stay out of the limelight."

"Etsu, what are you talking about, I won't tell them a thing! They kept you away from me, but still rave about you till no end!" Lory huffed indignantly. "Your dad's a HUGE oya-baka. Every time we meet he enthuses about how you've got his hair, his eyes, your mom's face, it pisses me off because I've never got to meet you even once! He's worse than your grandfather was!"

Oh wow. This was interesting information that I could blackmail Otousan with if I ever had to. The almighty Tsuruga Ren going on and on about his flat-chested, near non-existent daughter? I shook my head to get back to the conversation at hand.

"I don't get it, why won't you tell them? Wouldn't you be worried if a sixteen year old joined the industry without her parents' consent?"

"You want to join showbiz?" Lory's eyes twinkled with even more excitement, which a moment before I conceived as impossible.

This question was rather interesting. You would think that someone like me would have heard it often, but the truth was that no one had asked me that as directly as he had. As a result, I had never really thought about the answer that truly resonated deep within my heart, and I resigned to giving the standard train of thought that I had repeated in my mind numerous times over the past few years.

"I can't act. Or sing. Or dance," I somehow found it tough to lie to the President, "I'm not good enough."

"Is that what you think?" His tone had changed completely, and he was looking at me with somewhat accusatory eyes.

I couldn't give an answer. What was it about him that scared me stiff, that made me feel that this wasn't the reply he was expecting? I felt even worse than I did when I thought he was going to tell my parents about me being in the LME offices. There was a tone of finality in his voice, and something inside told me there was a window of opportunity open, one where I could finally be able to prove myself, but it was closing. Fast.

"If that's what you think, then I'm sorry, you're not good enough for LME either," he started towards the door, "don't even think of coming back to-"

"Yes. I'm not good enough to act, or sing, or dance. I don't even think I'm good enough to join the industry," I paced slowly toward Lory, and he paused before turning around to face me. "But what I do know is that I love working with people and seeing them bring out sides in themselves they never thought could possibly exist. I love being there for others, especially if they know they can count on me. I love the feel of creating something new, I love standing behind the camera and weaving a story for all to see. If joining showbiz means that I can continue loving these things, I'll do whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes?" He echoed my words with a faint smile.

"Whatever it takes," I affirmed.

Somehow, I didn't like that mischievous smile on his face.

...

"Ah, Etsu-chan, hold still! Just one more clip and I'll be able to put the wig on!"

"Jelly-san, it hurts! And I'm NOT wearing those skirts you set out!"

"Why? Your Okasan was more sporting than you are at your age!" I saw her grin reflected in the mirror, illuminated even further by the professional lighting behind it. "And don't forget, you promised Lory you'd do whatever it takes."

I muttered a silent prayer and hoped that whatever roller-coaster ride my life was currently being taken on, I would come out of it with all my innards intact.

...

I was a little apprehensive to step out of the dressing room. A complete makeover was an understatement; Jelly had chosen bright red for my fake tresses, and had clothed me in a sleek strapless black dress that stopped mid thigh, before giving me a pseudo beige military jacket to drape over my shoulders. If that wasn't enough, she had amazingly convinced me to get into a pair of black laced knee-high boots, which according to her, made my legs seem even longer than they already were. I twirled an end of my red wig that stopped about four inches below the jacket's collar, and apprehensively slid on the thin-framed glasses she had handed me before setting off to clean up, while mumbling that I should have allowed her to do make up as well. I hadn't had the guts to look in the mirror either, and took a deep breath before heading back to Lory's office next door.

That man had a whole lot of nerve to pull something like this on me! I shook my head and muttered curses under my breath, though I subconsciously knew I should have seen it coming, him having dyed Otousan's locks black and putting Okasan in an eye-blinding neon pink suit for months on end. The slick metal bangles around my wrist weighed my arm down as I pushed open the door to his office, suddenly realising that it was covered in tinsel, unlike the normal wood it was thirty minutes earlier.

"Lory Ojiiii-san, I can't believe you'd actually do this to – "

My voice trailed off as I stared at the room. I just have to say this. WHAT KIND OF MAN IS MY FAMILY WORKING FOR?

Gone was the practical furniture. The clear glass windows were clear no longer; they had been sprayed with the highest quality fake snow there was around, and were currently fatally drowning in tinsel and evergreen wreaths. A towering Christmas tree had replaced the sleek coffee table and sofa set in dead centre of the room, fully decorated with automated Christmas lighting. His assistant, dressed as a joyful elf in festive green greeted me cheerfully, ignoring my lower jaw, which had been locked in place about a metre or so below my upper jaw. And within the same thirty minutes, Lory had managed to acquire a slim, spanking santa suit, which he coupled with a braided beard.

"Etsu! You look just about as fabulous as my decorations! Aren't they gorgeous?" He grinned at me as my dumbfounded gaze finally made its way to him. "Look! Inflatable chimney set! Milk and cookies included!"

I stared wordlessly at him. No wonder Hikaru's mom wanted a hiatus. And was that reindeer I saw in the corner?

"It's nice...but don't you think you're overdoing it?" I replied tentatively.

"No."

"Even a teensy bit?"

"No."

"At all?"

"Maybe I could do without the braided beard."

Looking back, I sincerely thank the President for making me forget all about my apprehension regarding my complete change in looks, and replacing it with incredulous wonder instead.

...

I stepped out of the tinsel tsunami, brushing off the loose feathers that had attached themselves onto the jacket Jelly had loaned me. Following Lory's last instructions to look for Yuuichi in the conference room, I gingerly started down the corridor, hoping never to run into anymore nutcases. Knocking on the door politely, I then pushed it open.

Yuuichi was sitting alone at the other end of the long conference table, and he looked up from the stack of papers when I entered. Strangely, he seemed out of it today, and didn't once look back at his contract from the moment I made my way towards him. Why was he looking at me as if he'd never seen me before in his life? Was it the winter weather curse again?

He stood up when I neared and more or less abandoned the important piece of paper as he carelessly left it on the table. This action shocked me really, because he needed to be paying more attention to it than anything else. I couldn't tell what in the world he was thinking; I'd never seen this expression on him before.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" His voice held a great amount of bewilderment.

"Yuuichi, what kind of question is that?" I shot at him, then realised that his gaze was fixated on my clothes and oddly enough, my hair.

"Etsu is that...wow you're...you don't normally look like this..." his voice trailed off.

Oh, that's right; he must have been utterly shocked by Jelly's work. Argh, I knew trusting the President was a bad idea! How could I even fathom for one minute that I would be able to join showbiz? No amount of make-up or make-overs, and even if it was remotely possible to do make-unders, would be able to conceal who I truly was, a person unfit for the business.

"Ah, the President blackmailed me into this! I'll go ask him to take this overdone disguise off immediately!" Embarrassment threatened to overwhelm me as I was all set to burst out blathering apologies and running straight for the nearest exit.

"No, Etsu," Yuuichi tugged on my sleeve and looked away for a nanosecond, "I...this contract is for both of us. I can't join LME unless you do. It doesn't state your name, but it explicitly demands that you join as well, as a director."

Puzzled, I leaned over and grabbed the paper, which confirmed what Yuuichi had told me in ink. He had been given the paper way before Lory knew who I was, and needless to say before I even said those three blasted words (whatever it takes! (ugh)) which he had been using to haunt me. I clenched my empty fist in frustration as Yuuichi let out a light chuckle.

"Guess they needed more pokemon-loving professionals in the working world," I turned to see Yuuichi give a genuine smile, as if he was actually glad that I had to join the agency alongside him, "oh, and, you look good in that."

...

My cheeks were still tinted with the same festive Christmas colour my hair was as I stepped out of the conference room behind Yuuichi, after settling all the required documents and avoiding a hurricane of decorations. Lory had kept the braided beard, and had added a few more reindeer to his collection. Yuuichi's shock was comparable to mine when he caught a fleeting glimpse of Lory's office, with the inflatable chimney and its blow-up brethren. I still have a sneaking suspicion that an asylum somewhere in the world has been missing one of its patients for the past three decades.

We started out to the lift lobby, and as it was already six, most of the staff had begun to leave. I couldn't understand why even more male homosapiens were looking my way as compared to before, and when I turned to Yuuichi for an explanation, he just stared grumpily on ahead. Shrugging my shoulders, I leaned against the wall, waiting for the lift to arrive. I scanned my surroundings, trying to scout out actors or actresses I had seen before in any of LME's productions. Recognising many of them, I beamed, feeling as if I knew everyone already, and that I would actually enjoy being here.

There was even Megumi Kotone entering the lift lobby in style, that young actress who had managed to capture Kaitou Onii-san's heart! I let out an impish grin and continued watching her, traipsing gleefully into the lobby, with a flower-patterned skirt and a light, feminine blouse, not unlike what Okasan used to wear when she was younger. To my dismay, there was another male actor following right behind her, his tall, lanky legs clothed with a well-tailored suit. Oh no! Was love blooming between my brother's crush and one of the many rivals he had, vying for her attention? My brother had only been away for two weeks to promote that new "Tsuruga family" short film! She would have to survive another week before he returned! I muttered a silent prayer of protection for Megumi-san's heart, and proceeded to memorise the face of the person who was a huge threat to my brother's future happiness. Dark hair, defined jaw, warm golden eyes..._had I seen this person somewhere before?_

"Etsu, isn't that your brother entering the room?" Yuuichi pointed subtly in the same direction.

_Crap. So that's why he looked so familiar._

"Etsu, you might want to say something to me, not freeze," Yuuichi shook me gently, "now's not the time to freeze."

"I...I can't let him find out I'm here. No way. I know another lift lobby at the south wing."

"We can't run off now. Your bright red hair's a huge attention grabber," Yuuichi looked over his shoulder, "and he's getting closer. Any ideas?"

I filtered through different ploys I had seen over the years in dramas and movies, but I never thought I would need to desperately need to utilise one at all. My mind zoomed in on one that I knew would be foolproof, but the thought of actually executing it was scary. Yuuichi had already moved closer in a futile attempt to shield my face away from Kaitou's view, but I knew my brother would sense something was off and probably find an excuse to engage two unfamiliar faces in friendly banter, while simultaneously trying to figure out who we were. If he took even one glimpse at my face, he'd know.

"I've got one, but you're not going to like it," I looked straight into his slightly worried blue eyes.

"You don't have time for this," Yuuichi warned, "hurry up and do it already, I'll play along."

"I'm so sorry, Yuuichi."

I threw my hands round his head, brought his face down to mine, squeezed my eyes shut and kissed him on the lips.

...

_What more can I say. Hope you liked it, read and review! XD_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19!**

The way my mouth collided with his was comparable to two steel tankers ramming each other at the highest speed attainable. Our teeth clashed and honestly, it hurt. I winced, not daring to open my eyes in fear that Kaitou might spot me, or even worse, that I'd see Yuuichi's flabbergasted face. The only thing on my mind right then was to elude any detection, and the way Yuuichi had frozen stiff wasn't a good sign. Kaitou would know instantly that it wasn't real!

"Now's not a good time to freeze either! I know you're pissed at me but please, please just pretend," I whispered softly into his ear as I buried my face in the smooth expanse of his skin stretching from his shoulder to his neck.

"Okay Etsu, I'll...pretend," Yuuichi murmured in response, leaving me wondering if his voice had always been that deep.

His mouth met mine again and his lips moved gently across my own, and it felt pleasant this time. Predictable even. Only one of his palms cupped my face, and his warmth radiated from it. I wasn't sure, but it felt like an entire crew of STOMP drummers had made the inside of my heart their latest performance stage, pounding against my chest in a desperate bid to make ends meet. Mint; he smelled a little like mint when I took a chance to breathe deeply. Unconsciously, I pulled him a little closer, but he put up resistance and continued to only brush his lips against mine. Then, all too soon, the near non-existent pressure on my lips was gone and he pulled back.

I realised how tightly I had been clutching him and disentangled my arms from around his neck in sheer embarrassment. Glancing furtively at the lift lobby and confirming that Kaitou had left, I heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Yuuichi, who was staring down at me with a frown on his face. Oh no! He was mad at me, wasn't he? I bit my lower lip after turning a bright shade of red, and then hurriedly glanced away.

The turmoil in me grew greater as we left LME and the setting sun cast long shadows of us against the pavement. I tucked my hands firmly into my pockets as we walked home in uncomfortable silence. When we were about a block away from our apartment, I couldn't take it any longer, and burst out into what my brothers have termed as an "Okasan-moment".

"I'm so SO sorry I violated your privacy and stole a kiss and I even made you pretend I'm sorry I'm sorry oh no please don't kill me? No that wasn't a question. Please don't kill me!" I rambled on and on, and now as I look back, even if he was going to slaughter me there and then I could have picked better last words than those.

I watched as the frown on his face ebbed away slowly and a rather pained expression took over. It was as if he was forcing himself to smile at me, and that made me feel even worse.

"Etsu, I'm not angry because you kissed me," his eyes conveyed honesty to mine, "I'm annoyed because I'm thinking if you're willing to go to such lengths to protect your identity, you'd probably kiss any other guy as well."

"You make me sound as if I'm a kissing monster," I miraculously unearthed my ability to inject sarcasm into that sentence despite all the awkwardness.

"That gives really bad kisses. Couldn't you at least aim right? My teeth still hurt!"

"It was a do-or-die thing! Besides, you said you would play along!"

"How'd I know you were out to put a dent in my jaw?"

And with that, the tense moment was over as we squabbled all the way to Shujin-san's ramen shop.

...

I found myself sitting on the rooftop that night, or technically early in the morning, enjoying the scenery and cool breeze. The President had specified in the contract that he wanted to reshoot the music video with proper cast, crew and equipment, and that I was to spearhead it as well. I sighed and flipped a page on my notebook, waiting for inspiration to strike like a lightning bolt. (Hence, I was sitting on the roof. There was a higher chance of being struck here.) He had given us two days to settle the new script and directions, and even though I had spent four full hours after dinner thinking it through, there were certain scenes that I felt unsure about cutting or changing. Perplexed, I had called Yuuichi to come up as well, hopefully to give his opinion on what should be in his music video.

The said teenager sauntered lazily towards where I was sitting and sank down on a tile beside me, rubbing his eyes and looking slightly dazed. We had parted ways after dinner, right after he had warned me to go straight home and not to stop anywhere else along the way. I also remembered him telling me that he was going to the bar to inform the manager of his recent employment at LME, which meant that he would probably stop performing at that nightspot. He must have had a drink or two after breaking the news to his employer, and was now feeling rather grumpy for being dragged out of his apartment instead of being allowed to rest.

"Getting a new job is no excuse to get drunk," I greeted him as he rubbed his temples a little.

"You're my director, not my manager," he mumbled.

I proceeded to discuss the scenes to be kept and to be cut, and I could tell that Yuuichi was contributing as much as he could in his partially inebriated state. After a while, I realised I should wait until he sobered up entirely before continuing, especially since he had just suggested that I should scrap the roof scene and put little ballerina pokemon into the video instead.

"But they'll be wearing pink! Everybody likes pink!" Yuuichi slurred slightly.

"Fine, this can wait till tomorrow," I conceded, and shook my head at the person I would be calling my partner for the next two weeks until the video had been finished.

"Pink and fuzzy! Oh my goodness that's a winning combination! Write it down Etsu! Write it!"

"I'm pleased to know you share my passion for pokemon."

I was glad that Yuuichi wasn't avoiding me like the plague even though I'd done something so disrespectful to him. We were even able to joke about it earlier, and now we were bantering as if nothing had happened between us. Maybe kisses weren't that life-changing after all. I must admit that I did find the kiss pleasant, but in all honesty it wasn't anything to go head over heels for. Since Yuuichi and I had always been frank with each other, I decided to speak my mind about it.

"Don't you think kissing is overrated?" I began.

"What makes you say that?" Yuuichi calmly responded, turning to face me as he leaned on the metal railing.

"You know all those shows where the main leads kiss and suddenly they can't love anyone else?"

"And your point is?" He raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"I mean, when we kissed just now, it was nice and all, but I don't think it left much of an impression on me."

"At all?" He pouted. "Well, you're the bad kisser, so I guess it can't be helped."

"I'm not bad at it! My main goal was to evade detection!" I argued. "Maybe you're the bad kisser after all!"

"Well, I doubt that very much," he stated indignantly, and then grinned impishly, "but I have a way to solve this problem."

"What, we kiss again?" I replied in a monotone. "Who's the kissing monster now?"

"I figure if we're going to kiss, we might as well do it right. Who knows if you're going to have to hide from more people using that tactic again?"

My eyes widened at this. Was he serious? Wasn't kissing supposed to be something special reserved for two people who loved each other, not to settle some silly squabble between good friends?

"Yuuichi, you're drunk. Go home." I stood up and began to make my way to the door of the roof.

"So that's that then. You're the bad kisser. And you took advantage of me, but you don't have the guts to actually give me a real kiss."

"It's not that I'm a coward!" Nearly yelling at him, I whirled around.

Yuuichi was still sitting on the tiles and leaning against the railing, with that same pained expression I saw in the afternoon. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, or what he wanted. All I knew was that something had been messing with his brain, and alcohol was the prime suspect. Yet, why was he acting like this? I couldn't figure anything out and it was all so strange. Was it just me or did it seem as if he was trying to pull every string he could in order for me to kiss him? I was sure of one thing though, I really didn't like that face he was making. He looked worse than he did while filming the video, like someone had punched him in the stomach and then twisted his ankle in ways ankles shouldn't be twisted. It made my heart feel even more wretched than it currently was confused.

"I know you're not," he gave a wan smile.

"Yuuichi, I don't understand," I approached him cautiously, "what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"If I say nothing's wrong, you're sure to call my bluff."

"So tell me. We're friends, aren't we?"

Yuuichi tore his gaze off the drab grey tiles to meet my worried eyes.

"That's exactly what's wrong."

...

Back in my room, I tossed and turned on the bed. After Yuuichi had said that last sentence to me, he'd taken off back into his apartment, and left me staring slightly agape on the roof. If confusion was a disease, it was probably incurable now, spreading through my system like wildfire. I couldn't stand that a close friend of mine was in such inconceivable agony, but what really drove me insane was the fact that I didn't even know what was wrong. To top it off, it was something that he couldn't tell me about! And what did he mean that something was wrong with us being friends? At least he didn't lie to me, so I knew he wasn't brushing me off, but all this was way too confusing.

My thoughts drifted back to the kiss, or rather the lip-collision, we had in LME. He didn't seem to be too enthusiastic when he was kissing me, and anyhow I had asked him to pretend. It wasn't real, but somehow or rather something within me liked how Yuuichi was close to me, and actually enjoyed how he smelled like fresh mint. I even remembered how my arms had wound up around his neck, and how it actually felt like it fit snugly there. I could almost imagine putting my head gently on his shoulder again, feeling his warmth. Or even when he had that accident a week or two earlier, and his hands just enveloped mine. My heart suddenly sped up, and I wondered if the air-conditioning had suddenly stopped working. I gasped in horror.

Did I love him?

No, it couldn't be. All the things I had just thought out were just Yuuichi's physical aspects. Okasan had told me before that attraction and love were two different things. I saw more of Yuuichi than anyone else, especially since we lived so near to each other (less than four vertical metres apart) and also because we attended the same school. It had to be just attraction, nothing else. I had never felt love before, but people always told me that love felt nice and warm. This was just plain confusing, so it had to be attraction. It had to be.

I sighed in contentment now that I had figured everything out. The only cure to this attraction would be to squash anything within me that thought Yuuichi liked me as well. Clearly, he didn't. Sure, he treated me well, and I was one of the few he opened up to, but there was still Kaichou and plenty of other girls out there that he would probably be able to get close to. Competition for his affections was rife in school, and now that he had secured a contract with LME, he would certainly be sought after by almost all of Japan's female population. That, of course, would be welcome by the industry and catapult him to greater heights of stardom, so I couldn't let my attraction to him interfere with his career.

What Yuuichi needed now would be someone he could trust, and a friend that could back him up no matter what happened in showbiz. I knew I could trust him, but he may not have been sure that he could trust me with anything. I got out of bed slowly and tied my blonde hair into a lazy bun, before doing a quick search on the internet as to what would help with hangovers. After putting together a concoction of milk, banana and honey, I started up the stairs to Yuuichi's apartment.

...

_Haha. She's actually worse than Kyoko, isn't she? Sigh. Reviews are much appreciated, and I will be coming up with the next chapter soon!_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20!**

In the same second that Yuuichi opened his door, he took one quick glance at me, and managed to slam it shut before I had even uttered a word. No one wants to have a sturdy, rectangular piece of wood nearly colliding with their shell shocked face at about two in the morning, and thus I rapped the door yet again to demand entrance into the apartment, as well as an explanation for his bizarre behaviour.

The piece of wood creaked ever so slightly before remaining ajar at a miniscule angle away from the door frame, and was then suddenly flung wide open. Yuuichi had changed into a printed t-shirt and grey slacks, and he was staring at me with an interesting mix of incredulity and disbelief. I watched perplexed as he raised an index finger and aimed it squarely at my shoulder, before stabbing rather viciously with it.

"Ow! What's wrong with you today?" I exclaimed, rubbing the now sore spot on my shoulder.

"Oh my gosh! You're real!"

It was hard to describe, but right then, it looked as if Yuuichi was bouncing up and down on the spot, brimming with newfound excitement. And let me tell you, the sight of a sixteen year old, 1.8 metre tall male jumping up and down like a small kid in a bouncy castle could well traumatize anybody. It reminded me vaguely of a giraffe on crack, but I digress.

"You expected me to be an apparition of sorts?"

"Well, it's late, I'm drunk, so I wouldn't be surprised if the sky falls down," he turned away and stumbled towards the couch, tripping over his feet and landing flat on the marble floor in the process. "See? The sky just fell!"

I set the water bottle containing the banana and honey milkshake I had blended on his kitchen counter, and then gingerly entered the living room of his apartment, trying to ignore the scent of alcohol that permeated the air throughout the confines of his flat. One look at the classy coffee table and I realised he had been consuming more alcohol within the past hour; the glass top boasted two decanters of differing vintage ports and half a bottle of 1997 Bordeaux red. Gosh. Was LME's latest talent a closet alcoholic?

Well, he certainly was an upper-class alcoholic from the looks of it, and with very good taste indeed. I gave a wan smile as I recalled how Otousan and Ojisan had taught me to distinguish and appreciate finer wines, and it certainly seemed that Yuuichi possessed similar skills. These three potent drinks, however, had price tags that matched their alcoholic content. Surely it would have burned a hole in his pants, if not fried them to an unidentifiable crisp. Why was Yuuichi so rich anyway? Noticing that my friend had slowly but surely made his way into the plush beige sofa he owned, I watched a little worriedly as he began to reach for another glass of red. Picking up the decanters and bottle, I set the drinks on the kitchen counter safely away from Yuuichi's reach, and then substituted the wine glass for a mug of my homemade brew.

"Yuuichi, talk to me," I settled into the couch beside him, "What made you do this?"

Yuuichi's head suddenly found a nice parking spot on the nook between my neck and shoulder, and he heaved a sigh as he made himself at home. The initial action shocked me. In all the months I had shared a class with him at Youdai High, he had barely made physical contact with any other female student, but here he was, acting all familiar with me. Silence ensued, and I wasn't sure if the raven-haired drunk had fallen sound asleep until he spoke softly.

"I saw my father today."

"Go on," I murmured.

"He's the asshole I wrote the song for, same one you've been editing," he spat the words out as though they tasted vile on his tongue. "Walked right into the bar like he owned the place, and treated my friends behind the counter like dirt on combat boots."

When I had sprained my ankle months ago, Yuuichi told me that his father was never there for him. This same man that neglected his duties as a parent was now rude and brazen as well? The picture Yuuichi painted of him didn't seem to be a masterpiece, and the song he wrote made my heart ache for Yuuichi. Whoever Yuuichi's father was, he sounded like a first-class jerk.

"Did he recognise you?"

"Recognise me?" Yuuichi gave a cynical scoff. "That bastard doesn't even know I exist."

There was nothing I could do but listen to Yuuichi. The hurt, the pain, the hate; it was all evident in great amounts, which I suspected Yuuichi had been burying deep within all these years. I doubted he had spoken about his family to anyone in Japan either, and I was certainly curious why he had chosen me as a confidant. Then again, the alcohol he downed must have loosened his lips, and all he really needed was someone to hear him out.

"He's just a selfish brat, and I still don't see why my mom loves him, or wants to protect him so badly. Whenever she writes, she keeps telling me to stay out of his way. To forgive him. I try and I try, but I can't. Not after what he's done to her." Yuuichi turned to face me, his eyes sore and full of anguish. "Okasan gave up everything to protect him, her career, even her friends. Is it strange that she's forgiven him, but I can't?"

"No, it isn't," I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, even though I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, or what Yuuichi couldn't forgive him for.

"You know, right Etsu; you know what it's like hide from the rest of the world. But I've got to hide from my own father. For HIS bloody sake. So I don't jeopardise HIS career."

I couldn't believe I had once regarded my life as one of loneliness and pain. Even though I rarely got to see my family, I knew they loved me, and they never failed to encourage or approve of my actions. Beside me was someone who had neither a family to go to, nor people to encourage him, and in fact, the same blood ties that bound him to his father and mother were tearing him apart inside. He clenched his fists in anger and frustration before turning away.

"I just had to see him today, after I joined the same industry he did. Believe it or not, I always thought that surpassing him would be my only chance of making him realise what he's been missing out on. But now I see that I can't change a thing, and what's worse," he looked straight at me, "is that I'm scared, no, terrified, that I'll end up like him."

Yuuichi slumped down into the sofa, looking as if he'd used up all his energy just to translate whatever that had been haunting him into comprehendible words. Though I now had a few major clues and insights into Yuuichi's past, there were many more unanswered questions. For example, who was his father anyway, especially if he had been in showbiz before? Why did Yuuichi's mother see it as necessary to run instead of figuring things out? Was Yuuichi's father really that selfish? But these were questions that could be left unanswered for now.

I took this chance to poke the despondent Yuuichi in the ribs.

"Who are you and what have you done with Yuuichi? He's always helping others, and he knows exactly what to say. He's the one who I've never been worried about, until the day I found him bleeding after jumping on a couch, and maybe today after I found him drunk," I threw a withering look at him. "He's the one that gives more when he feels like giving up."

"I'm not who you think I am, Etsu."

"Of course you're not. You're not the Yuuichi I know. So spit him out."

"You'd freak if you found out who I really was."

There was something about the way he said it that sent a chill up my spine. What was he talking about? I couldn't bear to see him like this for any longer. He was trying to push me away, probably convinced that if I became too close to him, he'd drag me down into a dark abyss. That, however, would mean that he would have to suffer alone, and I wouldn't allow that. Maybe I had been a little too harsh using that method to comfort him, like how he had utterly confused me on the rooftop earlier.

"I'm sorry Yuuichi, but I've never seen you like this before. I...I don't know how to react."

"Did I scare you?" There was concern in his voice as he saw me shake my head. "I apologise, please, just be yourself."

"You're the first person I know who has perfect manners when drunk."

"You're the first person I know who comforts her drunk friend by telling him to spit his real self out."

"Well, that was the best line I could come up with at the time," I smiled as the smirk I was so used to spread across his face.

"Well, try harder next time."

I grinned, glad the Yuuichi I knew was starting to show signs of returning. I watched as he sat up and lifted the mug that I had set in front of him, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Where did you put the Bordeaux? Gimme back my wine!" he whined.

"No way. Drink up; it'll keep the hangover monster from getting you tomorrow morning."

Yuuichi pouted, then sipped it, his eyes lighting up for a while, before hanging his head down and languidly placing the drink back on the coffee table. It seemed as if he regretted something, but the atmosphere that encircled him now was different from the bleakness he exuded earlier. I decided to let him take his time to collect his thoughts as he raised his head to face me.

"I never imagined you'd come back after I just brushed you off on the rooftop earlier."

"Ah, I know, we can't be just friends, especially now I know all about your deep, dark past," I mused as Yuuichi sat straight up, looking rather flabbergasted, and though I had no idea why, hopeful as well.

"So we're..." he began tentatively.

"Best friends!"

I exclaimed the phrase with much enthusiasm. Shouldn't I have realised this before? We enjoyed each other's company well enough, and counting today, I'd helped him almost as much as he'd helped me ever since I came to Japan. It would make sense that we'd not just be friends; we'd be best friends! Why hadn't I seen this earlier? He'd be a great best friend, and not to mention, whatever attraction I had to him wouldn't be able to surface, so I wouldn't have to bother about my feelings bothering him or getting in the way!

Now as I look back, I realise how much of a moron I was, but it seemed like a justifiable proposition at the time. Granted, I should also have seen the way Yuuichi was desperately looking for a wall to hit his own head against, instead of getting caught up with my "flawless" logic at the time.

"Er...YAY you figured it out!" Yuuichi looked as if someone had punched him in the gut yet again, but shook his head with a grin. "That means you have to stay beside me most of the time right? And also listen to me if I give you advice."

"Yes ma'am," I let out a stifled laugh.

"Good girl," he grinned as well, then did something that rendered me speechless and motionless before falling sound asleep on my shoulder.

My eyes grew wide as I recovered from the shock, and almost pinched myself to check if I had succumbed to sleep as well. We might have just become best friends, but I couldn't comprehend how he could sink into such a deep slumber after casually placing a gentle kiss on my cheek.

...

_Haha. Aww. He's sweet, she's DENSE. Hahaha. But that's the way it is, so it's okay Yuuichi! I'm on your side!_

_I just read Rutoh-chan's fanfic, "Broken Slipper", which is absolutely awesome so far in my books, and she's got the LONGEST chapters ever. I feel so bad that I don't post longer chapters, but I can't deal with editing so much at one go. So I apologise, and will make up for it with quicker updates. I hope. Hahaha. XD_

_Thanks for reading, and please review! Reviews are like fangs for a vampire – essential. XD_


	21. Chapter 21

_Yep. Throw the tomatoes. Fling the rotting cabbages. I deserve them all for not updating. _

_If I owned skip beat, why the crap would I be writing fanfiction? =(_

_[basic overview of this fic - mainly for everyone who's forgotten what it's about =( ]: Kyoko and Ren are married with 3 kids, the youngest being a daughter named Etsuko. She's been hidden from the public eye in America for the past 16 years (with Kuu, our resident oyabaka) and has recently moved back to Japan. Living with superstars ain't easy, and other than having to deal with personal demons of insecurity, Etsuko's future in life, and more importantly, love, are intricately intertwined with the past of her parents'. Secrets will be revealed, and boundaries will be broken – or maybe I'm just toying with your mind._

_(basically in chapt 20 – Yuuichi's drunk and spills a lot of secrets (please read it! They're juicy secrets!) to Etsuko, and she ends up sleeping on his couch, after which…hee. Just read on…)_

**Chapter 21!**

I awoke the next morning in a bed that wasn't mine. This caused me to sit up rather abruptly, and the smell of freshly made pancakes and maple syrup greeted me in an instant. I almost let it distract me from the current predicament I was in, but I had to get to the bottom of this. I tried to recall the night before, and how I had ended up here. _Was that bacon sizzling? Wow. Whatever it is, it smells so good... _Glancing around, I spotted a familiar black guitar case resting against a cream coloured wall. And then it hit me.

I was in Yuuichi's bed, tangled in his sheets.

For a while this thought was rather disturbing, because though I remembered falling asleep on Yuuichi's couch, I didn't recall consciously climbing into his bed. (Which, for the record, felt really comfortable.) I blushed slightly as the thought of the couch reminded me of the chaste kiss Yuuichi had blatantly given me on my cheek. It led me to wonder whether this was going to become regular behaviour of his, or if it was just due to his drunken stupor. Swinging my legs to the other side of the bed, I scratched my head a little and heaved myself off the comfy mattress. Following my nose out into the hallway and to the kitchen, I was greeted by Yuuichi, wearing a bright blue apron and expertly handling a skillet.

"Morning Etsu, I figured you haven't had much American cuisine since you stepped onto Japanese shores, so this is the least I could do," he gave me a warm smile before turning his attention back to the stove.

My gaze trailed from the pancakes and fresh strawberries, then to the sunny-side-ups and sausages, right before I spotted a good number of ham and cheese sandwiches. Was he trying to feed an army? Oh right, it was me he was cooking for.

"Yuuichi, how?"

"It's already eleven. I took the chance you wouldn't be up anytime soon and headed to the supermarket nearby."

I noticed he had thrown on a comfortable pair of frayed jeans and a simple cotton t-shirt, and was much more energetic than he was the night before. Or, for further clarification, the part of the night where he had spilled his heart out, after being a loose giraffe on crack. His un-combed, untamed hair stuck out in strategic places with the sole intention of humiliating him, and I winced at the thought that Japan's newest talent had gone out to the hypermart without bothering to lift the tragic curse of bed head.

"Your hair looks like a patch of grass that the gardener forgot all about. I can't believe you went out in public with that," I gently reproached him.

"Speak for yourself. Have you looked in the mirror recently?" He replied, deadpanned.

"Of course I did. It tells me that I'm the fairest in the land!"

"You ought to sue the manufacturers for giving you faulty merchandise," Yuuichi took one look at the sparkles in my eyes and scoffed.

"Well, for a guy who can't comb his own hair, I'm impressed you can cook," I laughed, completely meaning to compliment him for knowing his way around the kitchen.

"Surprising eh?" Yuuichi's eyes twinkled as he grinned at me. "I bet I'm a better chef than you are as well. How do you think I survived by myself all those years?"

I was about to grab a sandwich when my hand was briskly swiped away by a black-haired boy with a devious smirk.

"Go wash up first, you ugly duckling."

...

"You were dead beat when I carried you to the bed at around 4. Yes, I took the couch so I didn't invade your privacy," Yuuichi stood and began to clear the empty dishes which I had practically polished within the past half-hour.

"Thanks. And your bed's a lot more comfortable than mine, by the way."

"Oh?" Yuuichi seemed rather amused, "would you rather share it with me?"

I threw him a withering look and proceeded to stack the greasy plates that had once held some of the best grilled sausages I had ever eaten. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that the same boy who had a voice that could make angels tear had cooking skills that would put Jamie Oliver to shame. Perfect guys like that just didn't exist. Then I was reminded that Yuuichi was far from perfect, and that he had been bravely facing his demons as well.

Watching silently as he threw me a knowing smirk, he began to run the water and lathered the porcelain in the sink with a clean minty soap sponge. I decided there and then that real men do the dishes. Joining him at the sink, I placed the dirty plates into the basin, as he acknowledged it by looking at me with his crystal clear, sky blue eyes. Without breaking the contact, he suddenly stopped scrubbing the plate he had in his wide palms and inched his face so much closer to mine.

My once resolute mental barrier to bar myself from feeling any attraction immediately came crashing down like a Border's stock market share. All that I could think of was his warmth, the faint but crisp scent of mint on him, and how mesmerizingly close his electric blue eyes were. His eyes reminded me of cool, refreshing depths that cleansed my soul, or even of freedom in the never ending sky above. I wanted to explore the never-ending sea of emotions that his irises reflected. He seemed to be staring straight at me, biting his lip ever so slightly, and the blood rushed to my face as I squeezed my eyes shut. I wasn't sure what would come next, and what scared me was that I wasn't sure what I WANTED to come next.

I shouldn't have worried though, because Yuuichi's next move was to smother my nose with soap suds.

My eyelids flew open to see a hysterical Yuuichi bending over the kitchen counter in peals of laughter, his same blue eyes reflecting a kiddie pool of mischievousness and immaturity.

"AHHAHA- ET-HAHA-SU, if you could see your face now!"

I stood flabbergasted for a moment. What was this ailment that had been plaguing me for so long? If we were best friends these playful banters and bouts of teasing would be common, and I would expect them to come. What had I been expecting back there and then? Whenever I was in close proximity of Yuuichi, I never really could concentrate on anything else. His eyes, it must have been his eyes, the depth, the clarity and honesty they reflected whenever I looked into them.

I realised there and then that I had the most beautiful best friend in the universe.

Who was not going to get away with getting my face soapy.

Smirking right back at him, my left hand groped around the bottom of the sink for the soapy sponge. Yuuichi's eyes widened with realisation and horror. It reminded me vaguely of those demented plastic clowns at the mobile carnivals which had their mouths carved out so you could throw bacteria-infested plastic balls at them in hopes of winning a soft toy.

"No, Etsu, NO, I'm sorry; SORRY! ETSU! NO-"

If I really were at a carnival, they wouldn't have found a prize large enough to acknowledge my expertise at getting back at Yuuichi for his earlier bout of insolence.

…

"Damn, Etsuko, we got stains on my couch," Yuuichi muttered, referring to our recent water fight rather suggestively, "you were way too eager."

"Well, dearest, it's your fault for not using any protection," I shot back in annoyance.

Yuuichi laughed aloud and crossed his overgrown legs on his sofa, before hugging a cushion to his chest and watching the music video we had filmed the week before for the thousandth time. The Soap Incident earlier had progressed into full fledged war as I had chased him around his apartment with a soapy sponge, after which he led me to his bathroom and poured a bucket of water on me, then made a beeline for the roof. When I finally reached the top of the stairwell, he had the fire hose aimed right at me, drenching me in the liquid. Being winter, I had been utterly stunned at the freezing cold assault, before recovering and tackling Yuuichi to the ground, making sure he got soaked as well. We had spent a good hour on the rooftop, and I didn't regret a single minute of it.

After showering in my own apartment, I had taken the liberty to bring my laptop to his apartment to finally discuss which scenes should be kept in the remake of Yuuichi's music video, and which scenes should be flung out like last week's meatloaf. As I watched him gingerly sip his hot beverage, I shivered slightly and wrapped my hands around my mug a little tighter. My shower had mysteriously run out of hot water earlier, and I had been reduced to washing out the cold hose water with more cold water. It wasn't very effective, but at least I knew I was relatively clean.

"Oh, Etsu, I received a text from LME. I'm going in tomorrow to do a studio recording of the song," he smiled brightly at me, "will you come and give me moral support?"

Nodding, I beamed back at him before pouring steaming hot chocolate into two separate mugs. I still couldn't get over the shock that the President had hired both of us to be in showbiz, and was utterly ecstatic for Yuuichi. I wasn't sure if it was such a blessing to me, but I decided that I would cherish the chance that I had been given, and enjoy myself in the process. After all, not everyone gets to boast about seeing a close friend scale the ladder of musical stardom one rung at a time.

The past four hours had been spent editing and jotting down more notes before brainstorming further, and we had made significant progress. Given that the President had set the deadline for the storyboard as Friday (today was Wednesday), I was certain that we would finish in time.

"Okay, we'll cut this out," Yuuichi pointed to the scene where he had walked aimlessly out on the streets at night and pouted uncharacteristically, "my hair looks retarded."

"You might want to find a better reason."

"It's too dreary, and it makes the viewer lose attention fast," he explained seriously.

"True, but we need to show your detachment and preoccupation with your dilemma though," I furrowed my eyebrows in thought, "how about a few flashback scenes?"

I explained to him how we could film him walking down a street alone, seeing a perfect, complete family, and then contrast it with a child version of Yuuichi brimming with jealousy as he watched a separate family doing the exact same thing, bringing about the sense of continuation and inability to let go of his lacking past. Yuuichi nodded his head as he listened attentively, and then turned back to the screen to offer a few more suggestions on how the camera should pan out into a continuous shot during that, and also during the electric solo, the intensity of the camera movements or snippets should be shown at a much accelerated rate.

It was around this instant that I started sneezing. Accepting the box of tissues that he handed me, I sniffled that I was okay, and urged him to continue. After another fifteen minutes or so though, I couldn't concentrate well, and the irrational part of my mind concluded that I was just tired, whilst the realistic part sighed and told me I had probably caught a cold.

"Etsu, you okay?" Yuuichi asked worriedly, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I think I'm just tired from editing," I sighed and rubbed my neck, feeling chilly all of a sudden, and covered my legs with a cushion.

"You're the same girl who enthusiastically burned the midnight oil for three consecutive nights when you filmed last week. Are you sure you're just tired?" Yuuichi eyed me suspiciously, and I immediately noticed his wide hand looming closer to my forehead.

"I think I'll just sleep early," I mumbled and heaved myself off the couch.

I knew that it would be impossible to fool Yuuichi, but I remembered that he still had his studio recording to go for the next morning. If he just thought that I was tired, he'd leave me alone and would be able to concentrate on the recording tomorrow without worrying about his sick director. If he had bothered to cook breakfast for me this morning even though he was the one that was allegedly the one that should have suffered from a serious hangover, then I wouldn't want to know what he might do if I was really the one who was sick.

The world swirled a little around me, and suddenly there seemed to be two, no, three laptops on the coffee table. Before I could speculate on whether the world had transformed into a giant hall of mirrors, I realised I couldn't feel my legs, and a piercing chill had overcome my senses. Stumbling toward Yuuichi's front door, everything suddenly turned an awful shade of black.

…

_And when somebody's sick, we know a nice session of caretaking will follow! =)_

_Okay, first and foremost I really REALLY want to apologize to everyone. Whether you've been reading or not, it's an author's responsibility and ultimate goal to finish a story, and NEVER leave it hanging. I can tell you guys though, that this year has been rough for me (first relationship and breakup) and a new school and all. Doesn't change the fact that I should have continued writing. In fact, writing keeps me sane. XD_

_Thus, I am completely sorry, and I do hope you continue to read and review this. I'm sorry if the summary enough isn't adequate. (I think most of you would have forgotten most of it) I miss writing, and I'm thoroughly glad to return to my first love – fanfiction. =)_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22!**

"BRRRRR-ING!"

I jolted awake, slightly disoriented after hearing a loud, jarring noise in my ear. Looking around, I realised that I was back in my own apartment, and that bright daylight was streaming into my spacious bedroom. My laptop sat obediently on my desk, and I swore that everything looked a tad neater than it previously did. Piecing together the events of the night before, however, proved to be difficult with an electronic device at my bedside table screeching for attention like a spoilt, impatient brat, leading me to pick up the phone rather groggily.

"Miss Hizuri? Mr and Mrs Hizuri are here to visit you."

Huh? Weren't they on that Christmas tour around Japan? It was three days before Christmas! Were they trying to get themselves fired?

"They have already taken a copied key-card for the lock. This call is just to inform you that they will be letting themselves in."

Maybe early retirement was beginning to appeal to them.

"Oh," I vaguely registered the murmur of my own voice.

"Have a good day Miss."

The line went dead, and at that exact same moment, I heard the front door click open.

…

I tried to feign sleep as I listened to the sound of Okasan bustling about in the kitchen, setting the stove and chopping vegetables with the enthusiasm of a five-year-old at the zoo. Otousan was attempting to creep into my room, but his lanky frame cast a great shadow over my bed, giving him away completely just as he entered. I knew he was about to give me one of his giant bear hugs to scare me awake, and my throbbing head wasn't prepared for one of them.

"Otousan…I'm not that ten year old girl that you can trick into getting out of –"

I opened my eyes groggily, only to have them assaulted by the serene face of my father exuding way too many pheromones than should be legal for his age. My dark irises stared right back into his, blinking wide with shock.

"Ah my princess, so beautiful even when frustrated," Otousan smiled angelically and stroked my blonde hair.

"First, I'm not Okasan. I don't fall for the princess and fairy crap," my eyes narrowed. "Secondly, what the hell are you guys doing here? Are you trying to get fired by Lory?"

Otousan's face suddenly morphed into one of a sullen puppy, and I could see traces of teardrops forming in his eyes.

"You don't want me here? Is that it Etsu? All grown up now that you can't be bothered with your dear Otousan anymore?"

"Stop whimpering, you old sap," I sighed, and then let out a laugh, "of course I'm glad to see you!"

Throwing my arms around Otousan, I laughed as he attempted to tickle me, and then pulled me out to the kitchen to greet Okasan. She was as bubbly as a bubble could possibly be, and grinned widely as she caught sight of my messy frame. Abandoning the enormous pot of miso soup on the stove for a while, she hugged me tightly, and proceeded to chatter about how they had all missed me so much during their tour they just had to sneak away to visit. They would have a Christmas party later that night to attend, with Kaitou and Kichirou currently entertaining the press in Yokohama, one of the major cities of Japan that was closer to Tokyo. But for now, I would be able to enjoy a few hours in the company of my loving parents. Smiling to myself, watching Otousan mock Okasan for cutting instead of carving a radish, I couldn't help but feel that there was something important that I was forgetting.

Something that involved a studio recording of the most angelic voice I had ever heard.

…

"Kyoko, you don't normally make chicken soup, but it was really good today," Otousan smiled brightly as we cleared up the dishes after our meal.

"Chicken soup?" Okasan looked puzzled, her large honey eyes looking inquisitively at her husband. "I didn't cook any chicken soup! I thought you heated it up!"

As dense as Okasan was, we couldn't fault her for not having noticed the inconspicuous white porcelain bowl that lay neatly at the centre of the mountain of dishes she had prepared. Whenever Okasan cooked for me, tables would groan under all the excess weight of the dishes she prepared. Once, I remembered she had attempted to recreate some obscure dish of frog's legs, having a rather demented look on her face at the time, just as Otousan ominously cackled away. Times like those remind me of why I never fully want to understand the memories my parents have shared.

As Otousan lifted the bowl off the table, a small post-it was revealed beneath.

"Etsuko. Take care of yourself; keep warm; I'll see you after the recording. Ja-ne, Yuuichi."

My eyes widened at the thought that Yuuichi had prepared something for me. What exactly happened yesterday? I was out cold wasn't I? And how exactly did Yuuichi enter my apartment anyway? However, these questions would have to wait, as Okasan and I trembled under the sheer force of a sinister aura that permeated the room. Okasan's demons fed off the darkness within the light. Not daring to look at the brilliance that threatened to blind my eyes, I heard Otousan's syrupy sweet, gentleman's voice, the one he had always used to feign knowledge or conceal his anger.

"Etsu-chan, who is this…Yuuichi?"

…

_Hahaha. Short chapter, but more will come soon. Oh demons, you guys are so busted. XD_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23!**

I twiddled my thumbs nervously as I sat on my supposedly comfortable bed which gave me absolutely no comfort at all. My hands were cold as ice and my confused mind mirrored the state my thumbs were in, going about in circles whilst going nowhere. As I thought up a plausible lawsuit for the makers of the unsatisfactory mattress, my golden-eyed, slightly flustered Okasan bolted into the safety of my room and slammed the door shut, locking out Otousan's irate raving at the highest of decibels known to human ears.

"Okasan," I began worriedly, "what's wrong with Otousan? Is he okay?"

"He's fine, ignore him for now," Okasan shot a withering look at the door, meaning it for my ranting father outside. "I'm more interested in you. Tell me more about Yuuichi."

Okasan walked beside me while brushing her sleek raven hair back, light almost irradiating from its sheen, and then sat down beside me. My plans for suing the mattress company completely vanished as she wrapped her motherly arms around my shaking frame, soothing any raw nerves that I felt. Who needed comfy beds anyway? I placed my head on her shoulder and stared out the window, watching the clear blue sky which suddenly reminded me of Yuuichi's crystal eyes that reflected the same calming azure.

I proceeded to tell Okasan about Yuuichi, everything pertaining to school, and him being a neighbour. Praying silently that she wouldn't inquire further, I discretely skipped the parts about him filming the music video, and about me visiting LME because of him. All the while there was a knowing glint in her bright-eyed gaze, which till this day I still cannot figure out if she knew the truth in that moment.

"I just don't understand why Otousan's so angry," I gave Okasan a forlorn gaze, "is it that wrong for me to have a best friend?"

"No, it isn't," Okasan shook her head with a wan smile that held a hint of reproach, "I just need to know one last thing. How do you feel when you're around Yuuichi?"

This was a question I hadn't been expecting. My last remark had been a rather evasive, last-ditch attempt to get some sympathy from Okasan. Being a first-rate actress, she had immediately seen through my bluff, and thrown me off-guard with a black-belt-worthy statement of her own. However, the tone in her voice assured me that whatever I was keeping from her could stay hidden; she respected my privacy as her daughter. I decided to give her the truth, as she had given me her credence.

"Safe," I answered almost immediately, "I trust him."

Okasan smiled warmly.

"Then so do I."

…

"Don't forget to drink your barley water Etsu!" Okasan hugged me before she lifted her slim yet fashionable tote bag onto her shoulders, her grin giving a much needed lift to my spirits, "take care of yourself."

"Hmph," my father let out a vexed grunt, "she's all grown up now, I'm sure she'll have no problem taking care of herself."

"Oh Otousan," I laughed and shook my head at his badly concealed jealousy and worry, which had already manifested into sarcasm over the past half hour. "I love you more than anyone else in the whole world."

"Don't lie." The sullen puppy was back.

"Am not," I stretched out my arms and Otousan pulled me into a hug comparable to those given by bears which fed off affection and warm embraces.

"Kuon, let go. She's not going to run away." Okasan reprimanded him, and then yanked the back of his collar.

"But she's growing up so fast…she's still my little girl – OW!" Otousan's whining was abruptly cut off, as Okasan dragged him by the nape all the way to the elevator.

I watched, highly bemused at the sight of an oversized, whimpering puppy being tugged around by its owner until both reluctantly entered the lift. A huge sigh left my lips as the elevator doors closed behind my long-legged parents, who were making their way back to LME to prepare themselves for the Christmas party that they had to attend later that night. Although my fever had broken, and my legs resumed their normal state of mobility, my mind had once again been thrown into a frenzy as I recounted the morning's happenings.

Otousan had calmed down significantly after Okasan had reasoned, or rather, threatened him into acceptance with her grudge Kyokos'. The apartment had been full with an eerie chill that even my blanket could not ward off. From within the confines of my room, I heard Okasan menacingly hiss accusations such as: "…you _unleashed_ your Emperor of the Night smile on me when I was 16 too…"; "…you _harassed_ me on your kitchen floor during dark moon…"; "…you _forced_ me to sleep on the same bed as you and I became a piece of _driftwood_…"; and so on and so forth. Sometimes it was situations like these that made me wonder what in the world had to occur between my parents for them to finally get together. All I knew is that when I gingerly opened my bedroom door to check on my poor mentally assaulted Otousan, he had a doubly pained expression on his face.

I knew that my parents, and especially Otousan, would be extremely protective of me. In situations like these, Okasan was the voice of rationality, ringing clear and true. Yet even through all the chimes of clarity I knew my parents weren't blind. They would know if their only daughter had started to like someone of the opposite gender. They would know if I had matured and grown regarding my emotions. But what they wouldn't know was that Yuuichi wasn't someone I could love. All my feelings towards him were just plain attraction, and right now the worst thing that could happen that would jeopardise his career was to be romantically linked with someone else of absolutely no status at all. In that respect, they shouldn't be protecting me from Yuuichi; they should be protecting Yuuichi from me instead.

I let out another sigh and walked into my room. Reaching into the cabinet near my bed, I pulled out my most treasured shoebox and grabbed a letter from the middle of the yellowed stack.

At a glance, I realised that it was a reply I had gotten from Jigglypuff when I told him about the time I visited my family in Tokyo during a summer break. I was ten, young, and immensely rash; I had stowed away in the family SUV as it made its way to LME. Kaitou found me crouched in the backseat, and Kichirou still remembers my stance then as having peculiarly reminded him of a cowering ostrich. Rather than scolding me or taking me home, Okasan had brought me to an old wing of LME, to the backstage of an unused studio. I remembered watching her closely as she rummaged through the old costumes that had been neatly packed into a cardboard box in the corner, when her demon-killing cutie honey smile suddenly flashed bright, in sharp contrast to the dreary room.

"_Etsu-chan, Okasan used to wear this!"_

The memories were vague, but I could never forget the monstrosity of the chicken costume that Okasan shoved into my peripheral vision. My eyes still burn at the memory.

"_Etsu, (close your mouth; the costume's not THAT bad) back then your Otousan and I weren't together yet, but we spent a lot of time in this studio just talking," Okasan smiled sweetly, "the first time your cold-hearted Otousan called me a friend was in this storage room."_

Okasan had left me there for the day, while Otousan and Yashiro-san brought me a packed lunch in the afternoon.

"_Etsu, I don't blame you for wanting to follow us. We just don't want anything to happen to you," Otousan began gently, his eyes widening at the lounging chicken suit which I had no longing to understand, "wow. Where'd you find that? He used to be my good friend."_

Ever since then, I have been proud to say that I have stopped trying to understand my parents.

Regardless, that day wasn't a completely bad one, as Otousan and Okasan routinely stopped by to make sure I was fine. However, it was a stark reminder of how I lived in the shadows, the backstage of the podium that the rest of my family were exalted on. It was cold and dusty, where the only traces of warmth I received were from the occasional recognitions and displays of affection that my parents gave. It was at that dismal backstage too, that I had penned a tear-stained letter to Jigglypuff, telling him that I was at the old LME wing, and that I was starting to regret trying to get close to my family. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and then proceeded to read the letter.

_Dear Pikachu,_

_Please don't be sad! Sometimes being backstage is the best place to be. Think about it; you don't just get to see the show; you get to see who your parents really are behind all their acting. Isn't it better to know they love you, than be recognised as their daughter in front of everyone else? That would be meaningless, and would hurt even more._

_Above all, you'll never truly be alone; always know that I'm here._

_Your best friend,_

_Jigglypuff_

After keeping the letter back into the shoebox, I placed it safely in my cabinet and left my bedroom for the kitchen, consuming the flu medicine my mother had purchased from the pharmacy nearby. I wasn't sure what it was about Jigglypuff's letters that always left me feeling comforted, but I was sure that it worked better than the silk sheets and double-coiled mattress that promised a rest of a lifetime. I didn't have much of a choice though, and crawled groggily back into the self-endorsed bed.

At the same time, a stray thought wormed its way into my head. How could I have two best friends? I already had Jigglypuff, so how could I let Yuuichi take his place? That would be far from right. However, as the medicine began to take effect, the memories of chicken soups and chicken costumes swirled in my mind like an endless boiling broth of toil and trouble, and I fell back into a dark and dreamless sleep.

…

_Hi guys I'm back! Again. =) I'm positive that I've confused many who can't quite remember the storyline anymore, and extremely certain that I deserve to be flung off several virtual cliffs for my prolonged and unaccounted absence. However, thank you so much for giving this story umpteenth chances, and always taking the time to read and review, and even asking me to continue my story through PMs or reviews. I owe you awesome people so much! =)_

_Great big thanks to **hana rika** – you motivated me to come back and write! It meant a lot, and it was what got me continually thinking about fan fiction and missing it too. XD I really appreciate that someone would really care so much for a story and even new characters that I created. It really makes me realise that writing this fanfic is WORTH IT. Thank you for showing me that I was on the right track and persuading me to get back on it as well! =)_

_Yet another shout-out to **EmilyF.6** – thank you loads for your fanfic "Of Age". I started reading it last night and got hooked, and most important of all I realised that you actually stuck with it and COMPLETED it, something I have plenty of trouble doing. I don't know if you will ever read this fanfic, but this is my appreciation for you! Thanks for the motivation!_

_Once again, thank you EVERYONE for reading! =)_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24!**

I tossed and turned as the haze of sleep dissipated, and after a torturous five minute battle with my sheets, I glanced at the clock. It was already six in the evening, and my growling stomach demanded food. My parents had left for the early Christmas party at 1pm, and I said a silent prayer that Lory and his tinsel town concoctions would leave my parents and brothers in one piece. Carelessly tossing off the duvet that was covering me, I decided that it was high time I took a bath.

Even though my body ached and moved rather adamantly as I took a towel out of the cupboard, my mind was fresher than it had been earlier, and I recounted on the past day's events. I must have fainted at Yuuichi's apartment after falling sick, and he must have brought me back to my own apartment where I awoke this morning. _He must have used my key card too, _I mused, and then stopped in my tracks. If he managed to place the chicken soup on my dining table before my parents came, then he must have used my key card this morning as well.

Curious, I paced around my apartment in search of my card, but it was nowhere to be found. My beige coloured sofa sat inconspicuously facing the doorway, feigning ignorance. Even the clear glass surface of my dining table seemed to mock me, its sheen tantamount to a mischievous brat that was sticking out a non-existent tongue in the face of my exasperation. Giving up, I decided to look for it after I had a much needed shower.

After undressing in my bedroom, I languidly wrapped the fluffy towel around me, under my arms and tucking the stray end into the soft material. Making my way to the bathroom, I should have seen the lights that were on inside; or at least noticed that the screen door I normally left open had been slid shut. I should have, but I didn't.

Which was the reason I found my key card resting slyly on the cistern, along with a very embarrassed, red-faced Yuuichi who had decided to relieve himself at the most importune moment.

…

"YOU RETARD! COULDN'T YOU HAVE LOCKED THE DOOR?" I screamed at him from my bedroom, not even sure why I was hiding there in the first place.

"COULDN'T YOU SEE THAT SOMEONE WAS INSIDE?" Yuuichi yelled back as a few loud _'thunks'_ came from the bathroom, which I translated into his probable current priority to get his jeans back on.

"This is MY APARTMENT! Why would I think someone else would be in MY BATHROOM?"

The door to my bathroom slid open as Yuuichi, cheeks still tinted red, emerged rather sheepishly with a slight, wounded pout at having been defeated in our recent war of words. I squeaked and hid behind my doorframe, already feeling my face colouring again. It felt as if scores of unearthly beings had decided to use my face as a colouring book for their younglings, and with their supernatural crayons, they shaded my face a whole new palette of red. Inwardly cursing the artistically-challenged fairies, I made a beeline for the bathroom, just as he threw one final glance at me before heading for my couch. There was something about that glance that made me blush even harder than before, and my immediate reaction was to flee to the safety of the bathroom. Slamming the door shut, I turned the metal lock on its side with more than thrice the force needed, just to emphasize his previous oversight.

As I turned the shower on, something about that last look in his eyes perturbed me. It felt as if the clear detached sky blue that had always calmed my soul was now facing its own inner turmoil, like someone had struck his irises with a lightning bolt and unleashed a force unspeakable, even more than the force that I had used to lock my despicable bathroom door with. Worse of all, it reminded me of something that I did not even want to consider as possible.

Scrubbing my hair in a desperate bid to wash that thought out of my mind once and for all, the soothing peach fragrance of my shampoo helped calm my frazzled nerves slightly, and I forgot about the conclusion my brain had come to a few seconds earlier.

_Isn't that the way Otousan looks at Okasan?_

…

"I didn't know a pervert like you could feel embarrassed," I glared at Yuuichi while loading dish after dish onto my dining table which was now crying for mercy after it had caused me so much frustration earlier.

"So now you want to see more of *that* and *that* and…" Yuuichi's voice trailed off as it was his turn to mock me, smirking as his chopsticks reached for another piece of meat.

His gaze once again reflected the nonchalant musician that I had become familiar with, and nothing was left of the intimidating creature I saw in his eyes earlier. I let out a hypothetical sigh of relief at this welcome reversion. Cooking dinner for the both of us was my way of avoiding his uncomfortable stare, which was a reasonable distraction.

"So tell me, how did your recording go?" Glaring daggers into Yuuichi, I let my version of a Mio-Natsu-Setsuka combo surround him, daring him to even squeak any further about his perverted train of thought.

Yuuichi seemed to surrender to my demons and began to describe to me how the music producers rushed him from the recording studios to various coaches; from voice trainers to professional songwriters; so they could get a better feel of who he was and how his music sounded like. I listened, intrigued at how Yuuichi's expressions showed his ever-increasing excitement, which was surprisingly more contagious than the waning flu I had. Apparently Lory had managed to whisk him in and out of each appointment personally in his Aladdin-themed magic carpet, to which Yuuichi had protested slightly before being threatened into being turned into a monkey. Whilst retelling this part, I laughed as Yuuichi shuddered and hissed that he didn't think the President was kidding. His grin returned, however, when he reached the part that involved meeting an acclaimed artiste who had been in the same recording studio and had praised him for his talents.

I nodded in approval at appropriate moments, letting Yuuichi continue as my thoughts went back to my family and the letter I had written to Jigglypuff. At this rate, it would be no surprise that Yuuichi would be getting his fair share of attention from the media within the impulse to shut and open an eyelid; you wouldn't even have time to blink. It was supposed to be good news for him; for us even; as I had helped in his journey. Yet why was there a dull ache in my chest? _Would I be left backstage again?_

Yuuichi seemed to notice that I was relatively quiet. Putting his relation of the day's events on hold, he leaned in slightly and lowered his voice.

"Etsu, are you okay? Still sick?"

"I'm fine," my voice came out terser than I had expected it to, and I silently chided myself.

"You're obviously not," Yuuichi got up from his chair and tugged at my sleeve with a slight grin. "Come on, we've had enough to eat. I've got something to show you."

"Where are we going?"

The only response I received was the world's warmest smile.

I followed him wordlessly as he grabbed his guitar case with one large hand and then my palm with his other, leading me to the rooftop where all our ideas and experiences had collided. The night sky twinkled soothingly as Yuuichi gently released his grip on my hand, as I glided lightly to my favourite tile, leaning back against it and marvelling at the breathtaking view that never grew dull. Although it was chilly, Yuuichi's form right next to mine gave me all the warmth I could ever need, and I wasn't sure why my pulse started racing once again. Attributing it back to the hormones, my musings were distracted by Yuuichi's tender, angelic voice.

"Etsuko."

I couldn't help but look at him. He sounded pleading, almost desperate.

"You didn't have a choice when you were born into a family of A-grade actors. It isn't your fault that you aren't part of that world with them, neither do I have any right to comment whether you should be or not."

Where was he going with this? I couldn't bear to listen anymore, and my face and mind started to contort with a cocktail of sadness, worry and rejection. Yuuichi suddenly lifted his hand to my face.

"Etsu, please don't cry," Yuuichi whispered, "all I'm saying is that with them you didn't have a choice, but with me you do. I'm your friend, Etsu, and I care about you. If joining showbiz means that I lose the one person who understood me, helped me defeat my demons and believed in me, then no fires of hell would even be able to drag me to a broken karaoke microphone."

I giggled at his reference and shook my head in awe. What _was_ this idiot saying? It did strike me at the very core of my beliefs that I wasn't good enough to join my family in showbiz, and I wondered how he managed to figure that out so accurately. I summoned up my strength and sniffled slightly, turning to Yuuichi with a wan smile.

"First of all, I'm not crying," I defended myself lamely. "Second of all, I don't want to be someone who believed in your dreams, only to become the person who stands in the way of them."

Yuuichi stared at me dubiously, the normal glint in his eyes returning. I could almost hear the unspoken, sceptical _"Are you sure?" _that lingered in the atmosphere.

"Thirdly," I continued, determination swelling in my voice, "as MY friend you should be helping me fight my demons too, not feed my selfishness!"

His azure eyes widened as I finished my declaration, as if my statement had made a drastic impact on his soul. Yuuichi beamed at me, and I nearly held my breath as I realised I had done near nothing to be the fortunate recipient of such a dazzling grin. The gentleness in his eyes blended with his heartfelt sincerity, and my own heart threatened to melt under his soft, admiring gaze. Yuuichi had never looked at me that way before, although I saw hints of it that time he thanked me for near forcing him to recount his unspeakable past, then coming to check on him after he was done. But, oh boy, was that smile anything compared to this one!

"And that's exactly why I need you around," Yuuichi continued beaming, and then reached for his guitar case.

"Please don't tell me you're going to play some sappy song," I grumbled, "the way you're looking at me is already freaking me out."

"Quit spoiling the moment Etsu," Yuuichi flicked my head as he dug into the front pocket of the case.

I rubbed the sore spot as I inwardly cursed the overgrown freak of nature that had recently stopped my normal behaviour of launching into a first-class self-doubt session. _His methods were completely underhanded and unforgivable and –_

"I got this for you on my way back," he grinned cheekily. "It reminded me of you."

Within the velvet confines of the box that he had placed in my hands was the most beautiful present I had ever received. The chain gleamed silver, and felt cool to my touch. I traced down to the charm at the end of the chain, and could barely contain my delight as my eyes lit up with glee. It was a stunning deep red with a slight shimmer at the top of the charm, and the lower half was a pure milky white, separated with a precise band of black. Yuuichi had gotten me a necklace with the most charming pokeball charm!

"Now's the point where you fall into my arms and love me forever," Yuuichi hinted, laughing bemusedly at my wide-eyed response.

"Who'd want to love you?" I playfully shoved him whilst still staring in awe at the charm. "I'd rather fall in love with this amazing necklace!"

"Plenty of girls will be head-over-heels for me soon!" Yuuichi stated, "I'm such a good catch too. I can play the guitar, sing, and even cook!"

"Of course! You're such a fantastic chef, even my dad likes your chicken soup."

I turned just in time to see the blood drain out of Yuuichi's face.

"Please don't tell me…"

"Quit spoiling the moment, Yuuichi."

Yuuichi shook his head in mock despair, and was still pouting when I glanced at him ten minutes later after gazing my fill at the detailed, shimmering pokeball. I stifled a laugh as I leaned against Yuuichi and stared up at the stars which were shimmering just as bright as the pokeball in my hands.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"You're welcome."

…

_Wow this was a long chapter. HAHA hope you guys do take care, and thank you all for reading once again! _

_I really like searching the internet for pictures of pokeball necklaces and pendants, and I must say it's waaaay cool. I'm even contemplating making one for myself. XD Also, reviews are like the shimmering stars that light up my universe. =)_


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25!**

"Jelly-san, come on, you know I'm not supposed to stand out!" I shrieked a little as I regarded the unrecognisable figure in the mirror, dressed in a stunning emerald gown that nearly trailed the floor.

"Oh come on Etsu, I rarely get a chance to work my magic on someone who has near perfect bone structures and features. I couldn't resist!" President Lory's most cherished make-up artist huffed at me, who for the past hour had been the most uncooperative charge she had ever taken.

Again, you must be wondering why I was trading my comfortable jeans and cargo pants to don this extra formal, rib-crushingly-tight-at-the-waist-so-as-to-push-up -my-non-existent-assets evening wear. Let me backtrack to a few days earlier, when Yuuichi finished the recording of his song. I was back in fighting fit within the week, and with the energy burst of a caffeinated cheetah, finished filming by mid-December. Yuuichi's completed music video was aired 48 short hours later, and gained so much traction online as well as the goggle box, such that Yuuichi had already been called back to the studios for two interviews, with more press coverage hankering for a simple minute with him. However, I had completely forgotten that at the end of each year, President Lory and Maria would throw the most extravagant Happy Grateful party, and that LME employees were expected to show up.

Let me reemphasize that, ALL employees were expected to show up.

So, to sum it up, I would be going for the extravaganza as the smooth, cool Emily Hart, producer and director of that newbie video that everyone would be dying to meet. With my entire family as honoured, long-time guests, Okasan being born on Christmas Day and all.

Way to stay out of the limelight.

"Etsu, don't look so sullen," Jelly sighed as she fixed my red wig in place. "I'll have you know that my darling changed the theme of the party just for you, even though it was such a rush. Here, put this on."

"He didn't have to change it for me," I relented and my voice dropped a few tones, my fears of inadequacy seeping through again, as I wore the silver shimmer mask. "Why a masquerade anyway? Isn't that too common for an extravagant man such as the President?"

"Sometimes, the simpler, the better," Jelly smiled as I watched her reflection in the mirror, just before she finished her magic by stringing the pokeball charm around my neck that I had wanted to wear even to the party. "You look amazing, Etsu."

I nodded silently, hoping she wasn't able to hear the words that pounded in my heart – _I wish I were as amazing as I looked._

…

The moment I stepped into the five metre radius of the ballroom, I realised that there was nothing simple about the party. LME had booked out the whole hotel, with all its celebrities having their own personal rooms. The ballroom had been curtained with the most luxurious satin sheets, red velvet covers for chairs and polished marble that would have been stepped all over by the end of the night. Even I was scared to tread on it with my heels; it looked too shiny to step on. Was it even legal for floors to be this polished without being a safety hazard?

On top of that, every single person in the room looked like refined diamonds, precious gems unclouded and untainted by physical faults. Women with flawless locks and flowing gowns, men with tailored and well-fitting suits, each one wearing uniquely fashioned masks as dictated by the President. Some brought their own; others grabbed theirs at the door, where the President had ordered tons of masks to be on stand-by. Peacock feathers, dove plumes and the like – it felt like a pillow factory had exploded throughout the ballroom.

I lingered in the corner near the punch bowl, hoping that my red locks and green dress were an adequate cover for me to blend in without attracting more attention than necessary. Yuuichi was supposed to show up after I did, so that any attention he would garner at the start would be away from me, even though I would be sitting at the table with him during dinner. I stared down at the punch as if it were the most mind-blowing thing in the universe, comparable to watching ice melt or a snail trying to cross a five-lane highway. Scrap the punch, the snail would be more entertaining.

Just as my mind was engrossed in the thought of an innocent snail becoming road kill, losing his life and home in a single, unexpected blow from an oncoming tanker, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before turning around, making sure that the director's smile I had rehearsed as Emily would be able to last throughout the coming conversation at least. Armed with my broad grin, I whipped around to see a gold and black-masked Yuuichi, who had arrived much earlier than expected.

"Woah, watch out, you wouldn't want to kill anybody with your blazing red hair," Yuuichi laughed bemusedly.

"Aren't you supposed to be working the press, Mr Single-and-Ready-to-Mingle?" I glowered a bit at him, yet unable to mask my smile underneath the mask that only covered my forehead and cheekbones, leading me to wonder why I was wearing this ineffective piece of headgear anyway.

I blushed as he paused a while, his blue eyes misting over as he grinned softly at me, took my hand in his and gently twirled me around, making my dress flare at its seams ever so softly. Wondering at what he was looking at, I glanced back at him and became completely enraptured in his comforting gaze; it made me feel just like a princess at a ball. A deserving princess at that, as the world froze in time for us, his cool touch suddenly leaving my hand to tuck a stray lock behind my ears, leaving me shivering ever so slightly as the tip of his fingers lingered at the back of my ear.

"Why would I? I'm with the most beautiful woman in the entire room," my lanky counterpart mused with a grin, placing my slight hand securely in his warm, enveloping grasp and tugged me forward. "Follow me; you can't be a wallflower all night, not at this ball."

As he pulled me away from the lavish buffet spread and my new friend the punch bowl, I finally looked at Yuuichi. Not that I didn't look at him before, but this time, I saw that he too had the suit tailored perfectly to fit his broad shoulders, his hair combed neatly and perfectly even at the back. His hand was just as large as I remembered, and even as he pulled me forward, it was as gentle as it was strong. His inner shirt was tinted the same green as my dress, leading me to wonder if the President had sponsored his suit as well. I didn't know why yet again, but I wished that I wasn't watching him from behind, but rather looking at him squarely in his eyes, and getting lost in that vast sea of blue.

That thought was almost enough to stop me from thinking about the disaster waiting to happen if I met anyone that could remotely make the link between me and my highly acclaimed blood relations.

Almost.

"Stop," I nearly skidded to a halt. "Yuuichi, STOP."

"What's wrong? I'm only taking you to see other producers and directors who are interested in the music video," he looked at me worriedly. "If you're not comfortable with it, I won't force you. But I assure you, it'll be more fulfilling than talking to that bowl of punch."

"It's not that I'm uncomfortable," I shifted my eyes slightly and stared at a satin banner or two that hung from the high ceiling. "Maybe I'll see them one on one instead of in a group?"

I could see the creases forming around his beautiful blue eyes as he grinned, nodding in affirmation, telling me to wait there as he brought the next darling of the directing world who was interested in meeting me, a plain Jane amateur. As he walked into the distance, I watched the large projection screen, on which an endless reel of photographs of LME stars and highlights of the year were being run. In at least one of ten snapshots, I could see Okasan with her captivating golden eyes, Otousan with his kind smile, Kaitou and Kichirou growing more handsome by the day. It was surreal to have family immortalised like that, for who they were in the industry, and here I was, attending their ball as an imposter. My right hand went instinctively to my pokeball charm, hoping that no matter how plain I was, my abilities would still be able to shine through – to grow and evolve, as Jigglypuff might have put it.

Unknown to me, as I was contemplating evolution, the universe and beyond, I had just begun attracting the attention of the last person I needed attention from.

…

"I'm impressed with your work, Emily," Director Ogata's eyes shone brightly as his sincere grin shone through. "I stumbled across the video as it was playing in LME HQ, and I must say that for a first timer you have a knack for both framing and angling. Rarely do I see new directors make use of the basics to their advantage; they're always looking for new and improved methods before mastering the essentials."

It had been barely five minutes when the suave, tall-as-a-tuxedoed-giraffe Yuuichi brought a slight, porcelain-skinned, bespectacled man within a three-metre radius of myself and the punch bowl I had unconsciously wandered back to. Taking his leave, Yuuichi left me alone with yet another princess; the darling of all directors; the well-acclaimed Director Ogata whom all my family members always enthused about working with. Swiftly removing his tasteful mask and having introduced himself, I had done the same. After about another five minutes of light conversation about how strong the sun had been the past few days even though it was winter, the Director brought up the music video.

"Well," I replied tentatively, not wanting to say that all I knew about directing and camera movements was from all the dramas that I had been watching my family act in. "You flatter me; I used the basics because I don't know anything else, Director."

"Then this company needs more directors like you," Director Ogata enthused. "You've got an acute sense of timing; all you need to do is polish your skills. What has the President given you next in regards to projects?"

"Nothing yet, but that's probably because I'm completely new and inex-"

"NOTHING?! That President, he doesn't know what he's got!" Director Ogata's eyes widened into an expression somewhat between shock and horror, then flipped back to one of undauntable enthusiasm. "If Lory doesn't want to use the talent in his arsenal, then I will."

My heart leapt straight out of my chest to straddle the fence between fear and unbelief at the Director's next proposal.

"Would you like to be a producer for an upcoming mini-series of mine?"

…

I walked aimlessly around the ballroom as stars streamed in left right and centre, Director Ogata's name card square in my slightly clammy right palm, not sure what just happened. It was a huge opportunity, so huge that it formed a tangible lump in my throat, making me effectively mute for the whole 30 seconds that the senior Director stared at me for in wide-eyed expectancy. After I had nodded my head in apprehension, the Director became a whirlwind of ecstatic energy, telling me about his concept for the whole mini-series, how he was just putting his team together, and how I could contact him and by all means show up on the first day of storyboarding.

I didn't know what to make of the situation. Don't get me wrong, I was just as excited about the mini-series as the Director was, and even more pumped that I would be working with a legend. If the Director hadn't been so enthusiastic and offensively spontaneous about his offer, I would have immediately thought that President Lory had been pulling a baleful of strings to create such a great opportunity for someone as unknown as myself, in his quest to get back at the almighty Tsuruga Ren and angelic Mogami Kyoko for hiding their only daughter away in the shadows of oblivion beyond the President's scope of crazy influence. The way Director Ogata had been, however, told me that he was sincere about pulling me on his team because of my own abilities, not because of the blood ties I had. To me, that meant the world.

At the same time, it meant that I had to prove my worth. Did I have anything to prove? Could I really do it? Even my friend the punch bowl couldn't give me an objective answer. My emerald gown trailed the floor as my heels clicked rhythmically on the marble, and I watched the shimmer somewhat dazed and captivated. On hindsight, if I had at least been looking up, I would have been able to avoid the disaster that happened next.

"You must be one hell of a thief, because you stole my heart from across the room."

Stopping me in my tracks back to the punch bowl where I assumed Yuuichi was, the molten, sultry voice came from a figure that inched ominously close, completely hindering me from moving forward. As the adrenalin rush of fight or flight kicked in, I was all ready to kick the aggressor where it hurt most and make a dash for it, not wanting to be caught in a situation of having to seduce a pervert yet again. Why did Lory have a pervert working for him anyway?! Other than Yuuichi at times, I could think of no one else who would be so familiar with me, let alone a stranger.

As I lifted my head and racked my brain for a witty retort against the insolent star, all that I came face to face; or mask to mask with was undoubtedly LME's second-most desirable man.

More well-known as Tsuruga Kichirou.

And known only to me as Kichirou Onii-san.

...

_That's all for now folks, I know I've always gone MIA and come back and gone MIA. Can't promise anything in terms of updates, but but but know that I've never completely abandoned this fanfic. On a more interesting note, I've joined the army. HAHA. So I only get to access the internet once a week when I get out._

_More to come! XD_


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26!**

"Well, I'm not the only criminal here," I heard a sultry voice leave my own lips. "It probably is illegal to use the same pick up line thrice in a night."

"You've got spunk," Kichirou's mouth upturned at the corners, his eyes sparkling from the soft glow of the chandeliers above. "But it would be most inappropriate to make passes so crude to such a beautiful woman like you, especially on a romantic night like this."

I had to give it to my brother; he had a way with words that was incredibly smooth. Pity though, that he was wasting his time on me if his ultimate goal was to make me fall head over heels for him. His raven black tailored suit accentuated his muscular figure perfectly, from the soft sheen of the luxurious tailcoat to his pure white gloves, down to his tapered dress pants. I certainly hadn't been the only one who had dressed to kill.

"Yes, Tsuruga-san, I agree. It would be exceptionally inappropriate if you were looking to get laid on your mother's birthday and at the height of the festivities no less."

"Ouch, but yes, that is one way of putting it into perspective," a cheeky, genuine grin played on Kichirou's lips, felling my defences and making me simply want to catch up with my adorable (albeit slightly twisted in the mind and almost certainly overly-hormonally charged) onii-san.

"Well, this isn't fair. You know who I am while I'm clueless about your identity. To whom do I owe this extraordinary pleasure of meeting?" Kichirou bowed ever so slightly in my direction.

I allowed a faint smile to gloss my lips.

"It's Hart, Emily Hart."

…

My brother was quite the skilled conversationalist, and my impression of him being an unalterable playboy soon seemed to dissipate. He showed more than adequate interest in the fictitious Emily I was, rather than just wanting to take advantage of me as a woman. (Or maybe that there just wasn't enough woman in me to take advantage of.) As the night went on, I was glad that Kichirou had found me, even if it meant that he might have found out who I really was. The company he gave reminded me that I was here because of my own abilities, having been accepted to LME on my own accord, rather than because I was the little angel of the Tsuruga family. It was precisely because I was Emily at the moment; not Etsuko; I found enough strength to keep my head held high.

Until our light-hearted, harmless conversation took an almighty, ominous detour.

"Miss Hart, you're still in high school right?" Kichirou prodded a bit. "What does your family think about you joining showbiz at such a young age?"

"Truth be told, they don't really know yet," I stammered my way through, the lovely dinner I just had threatening to make its way out of my stomach walls as I began to feel nauseous.

"Well, they'll find out eventually, there are only so many excuses you can give for not being around every other night."

"That's not much of a concern, really, I live alone." The words came out of my mouth accompanied by a wan, forlorn smile, and I couldn't help but carry on. "You'd be surprised how much they don't know."

I was shocked at what slipped out of my mouth. Never once had I said anything that implicated the rest of my family so. Was I a little less cautious because Kichirou was ultimately family anyway, even if he didn't know it? What if I subconsciously wanted to spite him for not being with me, all these years? I shuddered at the thought of it. How could I be so selfish, when my entire being had been constantly doted on and protected by those linked to me by blood? Japan's second most desirable man, my dear brother in front of me, was specimen number one; he was already keeping me from having to face this daunting ball alone. And here I was, throwing a fit that I was being left behind.

"Wow, that's a lot of angst for someone your age," Kichirou paused awhile and scratched the back of his head. "I can't believe I'm saying this. I know it's nothing much, but if there's anything you need to talk about, maybe I can just listen? Would that help?"

"Are you this nice to everyone you meet?" I asked dubiously, still guilty from having unconsciously accused my family.

"Not really, it's just that, you….you remind me of someone I know," Kichirou's features softened a bit, "someone very dear to me."

_Whoever she is, she must be one lucky girl to have onii-san's heart like that. _

"What about you, Tsuruga-san," I ventured boldly, not sure if I wanted to know the answer to my next question, "do you ever want to pack your bags and leave the family business? Stop being in showbiz altogether?"

"All the time," Kichirou stared at the carpeted banquet floor rather grimly, and I was shocked at how serious he sounded. "You can't believe how stressful it is to have such successful parents, and even Kaitou; it's impossible to carve a name for yourself without having others comparing you to them. What's worse is when they allege that the only reason you're succeeding is because you're riding on the velvet coat-tail of your family's name."

It hit me like a lightning bolt. This was the other side of the fence I never saw. The free expanse of endless green fields that I always pined to run around barefoot and careless in with the rest of my family was only another cruel harvesting ground for the likes of stars like Onii-san, who had reputations to uphold and conventions to follow. _Don't you remember Etsuko? Kaitou and Kichirou never had a choice whether they wanted the limelight. You do, yet you're still here. Don't you appreciate what you have? Your anonymity is a blessing, not a curse. _The thoughts clouded my mind, like dark curtains looming, threatening to rain on the fields that I was about to cross onto. The hole in the fencing I had made was small; the damage still repairable.

"But what keeps me going is knowing that I'm never doing it alone. Especially for me, when I've got someone else to protect by doing my job of being here."

Kichirou smiled at me, and I knew that smile. It was the same one he gave when he was in pain; when he didn't want others to know that he was hurting. That knowledge alone agonized me. I couldn't believe that I had spent my childhood brooding about not being with the rest of family in the limelight, not even bothering to find out how it must have felt for my brothers, who had to deal with the stress of being ever hounded by unforgiving paparazzi, and having to live up to unrealistic expectations heaped onto their shoulders day after day by the very nature of being the offspring of Tsuruga Ren and Mogami Kyoko. I knew how Otousan suffered when he tried to make a name for himself while everyone knew who Ojisan was in America. I just never knew that it translated into the exact same situation when my brothers came onto the acting scene themselves. I took one more look at Kichirou, and I wanted his forgiveness for all those years that I burned with jealousy, or cried alone and indirectly blamed him. The thunderstorms he must have had weathered alone would have made my dark clouds look like dust bunnies. Even more so, when he had another Tsuruga Kaitou to be compared to. After all, for every tear I had shed, Kichirou must have had reason to cry two more.

So I hugged my beloved Kichi-Onii-san, whispered in his ear, and bustled off into the crowd.

Before I could get far however, my route of escape was promptly blocked by my eldest brother, swiftly weaving in and out of the multitudes that the President had invited.

…"Miss, do realise that as much as you like my dear brother Kichirou over here, it is only polite to behave yourself at functions like these," Kaitou bore a visage that seemed about as long as Lory's Christmas wish list, at the same time using Otousan's signature, spiteful gentleman's smile.

The shock of being in such close proximity to both my brothers while I was disguised took its toll on me, and I was simply paralysed with fear from head to toe. _Way to go Etsuko, they may not know who you are, but you're forever going to be known as "that brazen hussy at the Christmas ball". _As I stood still, much like a kangaroo seemingly pinned invisibly right in the middle of the road before becoming road kill, I could vaguely hear Kichirou stand up for me in the background.

"Forget her Kichirou," Kaitou shook his head, "we need to get out of here now."

"What's wrong?"

"I'll give you two minutes with this girl," Kaitou huffed, "I'll tell you after I call Etsu."

_Etsu? Kaitou was going to call me? _

"Kaitou, tell me what's going on," Kichirou reached for Kaitou's shoulder, at the same split second that I was about to turn on my heels and make a mad dash for it.

"It's Ojisan," I could hear the quiver in Kaitou's voice, "he's been hospitalised."

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Just in time to hear the familiar opening lines of the pokemon theme song, blasting from the confines of my little black clutch.

And for both my brothers to widen their eyes in recognition of their sister's ringtone, undoubtedly unchanged since they left her in America all those years ago.

…

_Heh. Hello everybody, I'm back for now. I hope that I can move this story a lot faster, it's been a few years already. Then again, who knows, this story really does have a life of its own. Hope you enjoyed it, rate, review, favourite; do everything that you can do if you like it! XD_


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27!**

I watched shell-shocked as Kaitou and Kichirou stared right back at me. There was so much I wanted to say at the moment, but the words of denial, of fear and of worry for Ojiisan failed to articulate themselves, even though they were already on the tip of my tongue. I didn't know what to do first; to run or to simply admit I was their failure of a sister so that we could all rush ourselves to the hospital to see our dear grandfather. We wasted another good ten seconds in that stiff-necked position, not sure who would make the first move, or even what move would be the most appropriate one to make in such a bizarre circumstance.

Finally, I decided that I would be a kangaroo in the spotlight no longer. Who wants to be road kill anyway?

"Come on Kaitou, Kichirou, it's me," I pulled off my mask and shifted my wig slightly in one swift motion, enough for them to see my blond locks beneath, exactly the same shade as Kichirou's. "At least you don't have to waste time picking me up. Can we go now?"

Kaitou looked about as stunned as yesterday's meatloaf being taken out from the freezer to be reheated for a meal, if meatloaves were entitled the privilege of emotions. Kichirou looked no better, and it crossed my mind that he would have just realised that he spent the last half an hour first hitting on his little sister, and then sharing a little deep dark secret with her without him even knowing it. My heart ached for his poor traumatised and tormented soul.

"But…but why Etsu?" Kichirou stammered. "No, how? When? Why?"

"You owe us a long, long explanation, young lady," Kaitou stepped closer with a flabbergasted smile and briskly hid my yellow locks beneath the striking red wig, "but after we see Ojiisan, and most definitely after you change that blasted ringtone of yours."

Kichirou shuffled to my side, looking up and down at my ensemble, his face still reflecting the utter disbelief he felt. I playfully grabbed his arm as we tactically made our way out of the ballroom, inwardly laughing at my scowling, second brother, who did once tell me that there was nothing to hit on, and did exactly that. And I must say I saw him blush earlier when I hugged him without abandon. Taking one more look at him, Kichirou's long lanky form stared daggers back into me, before his features finally softened and he shook his head with a gentle, slightly disbelieving yet altogether disarming smile.

Just as Kichirou leaned over to kiss my head, it should have registered in my mind that any girl receiving obvious physical endearments from not just one but both of Japan's most desirable men should at least be watching out for any image capturing devices.

…

As the first son of the Tsuruga family bustled his younger siblings into his sleek black Mercedes, he made me sit at the back, crouched down and legs tucked in, at least until we were out of a 2km radius of the hotel that LME had fully reserved for the party. At Kichirou's signal, I emerged from my rather uncomfortable position on the rough inner carpet of Kaitou's car. Kichirou took the liberty to stare at me once again.

"I can't believe you didn't recognise her," Kaitou smirked, "you guys talked for at least half an hour."

"She was wearing a mask!" Kichirou retorted.

"Come on onii-san, even I know how terrible that lie is," I chuckled from the backseat as I watched Kichirou fold his arms in a huff. "I'll explain everything later, don't worry."

"You'd better," Kaitou stated plainly. "Etsu, call Okasan; they left already, and we should be catching the next flight out to Washington DC."

I gingerly dialled my mother's familiar number and got through to a very calm, yet oddly annoyed woman. Putting the phone on speaker, I quickly replied her irate "hello" with a more cheery version of "Okasan!"

"Oh, Etsu, are you with Kaitou and Kichirou now?" Okasan's voiced was laced with the once again, odd tinge of malice.

"She's in the car, Okasan. What's wrong with Ojiisan? And why do you sound so cheesed off?" Kichirou piped up, echoing my sentiments exactly.

"Well, you can either send Etsu home, or head back to the Happy Grateful party," Okasan stated mirthlessly, "it seems your baka Ojiisan simply ate too much over the holidays and suffered a minor heartburn, and then your Obaasan just sounded the alarm without thinking twice. He'll be fine."

You've got to be kidding me. I revealed my identity to these two idiots for almost absolutely nothing? Now I could understand why my mother sounded as about irritated as a reluctant spotted cow made to change its perfect grazing spot to a less than perfect one far away. It even was her day after all; my mother would be celebrating yet another successful year in her life. And the perfect night had to be interrupted by her father-in-law crying wolf due to his inhumane penchant for scarfing down everything he wanted; hook, line, sinker and the entire wharf; at those American party buffet spreads. Served him right to be a beached whale now. A part of me pitied my mother, and the other part had the utmost sympathy for the party hosts that had to cater enough to feed my glutton of a grandfather. And like a cow, that old fart probably had four stomachs. Or more.

"And I'm taking your mother on a well-deserved holiday," Otousan's voice suddenly broke my train of cows – I mean – thoughts. "Since we're already at the airport, right Kyoko-chan?"

"For the love of reindeer can you two get a room?" Kaitou grimaced, the throbbing vein on his forehead already threatening to pop out. "I can hear the pheromones oozing through my telecom service provider already."

"That's exactly what I intend to do, and more; much, _much_ more," a sultry, emperor of the night voice echoed within the confines of my brother's car, just as the line went dead, leaving all three Tsuruga offspring with chilly spines, in the worst way possible.

Kichirou was the first one to break the disgusted silence, if silence could ever be disgusted in the first place.

"Kai, Etsu; do you think that sick bastard of a father enjoys tormenting us like this?"

I replied in the affirmative.

"Most definitely yes."

…

The amicable, light-hearted banter between the three of us continued throughout the drive to my apartment, where we unanimously agreed that it was the safest place where we could talk. This jovial atmosphere, however, came to an abrupt halt when we finally entered my humble abode, where my brothers immediately sat down and grilled me like a salted fish on a thin bamboo skewer. I spilled everything; how Yuuichi asked me to film the video, how Lory encouraged me to join the business, how Jelly-san insisted she disguise me and give me a whole new persona altogether. It somehow felt good to get it out of my system, and my brothers listened with open minds and ears.

"So it's only been a month since you've been on the scene?" Kaitou quizzed. "Nothing out of the ordinary, no one approaching you and saying you look like Okasan?"

"Nope," I shook my head in the negative. "No one suspects anything yet. But…some of my schoolmates do know who I am. Yuuichi for starters, Hikaru is a given, and the school president. No one other than those few and I do trust them to keep quiet about it."

"That's good to know," Kichirou chimed.

"Don't tell Otousan and Okasan," I immediately jumped at the chance to keep the situation as contained as possible.

"Why not? Once they know, they'll be able to protect you so much better."

"Kaitou, I'm already 16, there's no need to be protected! Okasan wasn't, and she turned out just fine."

Another wave of silence washed over the three of us, but it wasn't a comfortable one. I looked at both my older brothers, and it seemed as if once again, there was something I didn't know. They shared bonds and experiences that I would never be able to understand, because I was alone. The selfish Etsuko in me simply kicked in all over again and I turned my eyes to the plush carpet in my living room, moving my toes around and seeking whatever warmth it could offer in the surprisingly chilly room.

"Kai," Kichirou started, "we should tell her."

"No," Kaitou's sculpted features hardened into an obvious frown, yet as Kichirou stared rather wide-eyed at our eldest brother, the latter's stance changed. "Fine, she'll have to know one day."

I narrowed my eyes at my siblings. What had they been hiding from me? I didn't like the fact that they were still reluctant to speak about something so obviously important, yet expected me to be completely honest with them about why I had joined the family business. Right about now, I found myself loathing the way my family conducted its business, obviously leaving me out of a critical loop. Kichirou read the lines of anxious annoyance etched across my face, and took the liberty to start the ball rolling.

"Okasan and Otousan never thought of hiding us away because they weren't expecting anything to happen," Kichirou stated, then looked at me rather gingerly, "but a few months before you were born, Kaitou and I were kidnapped, right at the doorstep of our kindergarten."

I blinked. Kai and Kichi Oniisan being kidnapped? This was new.

"Kichirou was only four then. There was no ransom note, no absurd demands, nothing," Kaitou stared into the distance, as if something was plaguing him, a demon that he couldn't shake off. "We were taken away for the entire day, and the strangest thing was when we were dropped off right back at our doorstep that very night, unscathed and perfectly fine."

"That's it?" My voice was laced with disdain and shock that I didn't bother to conceal. "That's all you're going to tell me? Who took you? Why?"

"It doesn't matter who took us, or why," Kaitou raised his stern voice a decibel too high for my liking. "The bottom line of telling you this is so you'll understand that all Okasan and Otousan wanted to achieve by hiding you away from the world of showbiz is because they want to protect you more than anything else. As long as you work in showbiz, no one must ever know your real identity."

"There's a lot you're not telling me Kaitou. I don't like that."

I watched as Kichirou heaved a sigh, scratched his blond locks and shook his head at Kaitou.

"Kai, if you're going to tell her, do it properly. It's a lot more complex than he's making it out to be." Kichirou's tone suddenly turned serious and he leaned forward toward me. "But Etsu, you need to promise me that you won't get too freaked out."

I nodded my head in acceptance, wondering where this conversation was going.

"That entire afternoon we were so well taken care of, it didn't feel like a kidnapping at all. The van headed straight for Kyoto, where it stopped at a worn-out, run-down inn. A meal of saba-shio and piping hot miso had already been set out, and a really nice elderly inn-keeper made sure we had eaten well, and then prepared the onsen for us. And the food, it tasted exactly how Okasan would make it."

"A while after we came out of the bath," Kaitou continued, rubbing his temples, "another elderly woman came to meet us. She was almost skin and bones, it was frightening. But there was something in her eyes that couldn't help us from being drawn toward her, yet quake in fear. She didn't say anything at all; just looked on with a stern, unwavering gaze."

"Then she pat our heads, muttered, 'good job, Kyoko', and simply left the room."

"After that, we were bustled back onto the van, and this time, there was another man inside, other than the driver. Black hair, lanky form; haunted and piercing blue eyes. He didn't say anything, and neither did we."

"Until the van pulled up right in front of our house in Tokyo, where Otousan and Okasan were already outside, waiting, like they knew we were fine and were on the way home," Kichirou said quietly. "The man came out of the van with us, but Okasan immediately stood between him and us. Otousan hugged us tightly and whisked us inside the house, but not before I turned around and saw Okasan give the guy a hard slap on his cheek."

They kept silent for a while, alternating between observing my reaction and looking down at the carpet, hoping that it wasn't too much for me to take it. My mind worked on overdrive for a while. Why would our parents react that way? How come Okasan knew that they were coming home? Why didn't they call the police? How could Okasan dare to lay her hands on such a dangerous man? There was only one plausible explanation, yet as I ran it through my mind, it already sounded as absurd as I thought it would have.

"Did Okasan and Otousan know who the kidnapper was?" I ventured cautiously.

"Bingo," Kaitou's voice was soft. "And what that man told us seconds before we left the van is precisely why Okasan decided never to reveal your existence to the press."

"What did he say?"

Kichirou pursed his lips.

"_Tell your mother I hope your sister grows up to be as beautiful as she is._"

I didn't know how to react. That must have been some serious stalking skills, having known that I was a girl even before I was born. But there was one question still left unanswered.

"So who was this man?"

"Etsu," Kaitou leaned in ever so slightly, "have you heard of this particular Fuwa Shoutaro?"

…

_AND THE PLOT THICKENS. LIKE CHICKEN SOUP BOILING OVER. Also, thank you __Gin-chan__, for pointing out to me that grandfather is Ojii-san, not Oji-san. =)_


End file.
